In business, the marketplace is normally a good guide to things such as economic outlook and shifts in business sentiment.
So it was that nearly all Australian distributors of mechanical power transmission equipment voted with their feet earlier in the year, bypassing National Manufacturing Week in favour of the upcoming AIMEX, with its focus on the Australian mining industry. It is a major shift in outlook from all of the significant players, but was it a little premature?
Fresh from a flat Diggers and Dealers mining forum in Kalgoorlie where the locals tried to put on a brave face, the price of both metallurgical and thermal coal (and share price of coal producers) continues to plummet. Mining is softening across the board, and the days of major capital investment appear to be on hold, at least for the time being.
Australia’s mining sector has enjoyed a continuous, sustained boom, which has been good for some sectors but distorted the competitiveness of others. A correction is overdue and is probably even late in coming.
All Torque Transmissions will not be exhibiting at AIMEX 2013. Sure enough, our product range caters to the demands of the mining industry and some of our supply partners would like to have us there. However, we believe that our future lies with Australia’s diverse manufacturing sector. Manufacturing provides employment to one million Australians, and puts to good use the flow of new talent coming through every year. That is where we see the future of Australia.
To everyone both exhibiting and attending AIMEX 2013, we still hope that you have a good time.
You can follow AIMEX on twitter at https://twitter.com/AIMEX_Sydney and on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/aimexevent
