At the AAMC, we have been collecting fast facts about Australia and how we compare in advanced manufacturing measures. Did you know?:
- Recent research from the UN Conference on Trade and Development reveals that Australia’s participation rate in global value chains is lower than that of 22 of the 25 largest-exporting economies. This means that Australia is missing out on a lot of opportunities to value-add, as we trade increasingly in raw materials instead of using our human capital—our ideas and our imagination—to our greatest advantage.
- In 2011, Australia spent just .227% of Gross Domestic Spending on R&D in manufacturing. This compares to the US, which spent 1.29% and Germany, which spent 1.33% – almost six times Australia’s level.
- The Australian Government spends $9 billion a year on Research, through grants to the higher education sector (60 per cent), to research institutions such as the DSTO, NHMRC and CSIRO, and through tax incentives.
- Manufacturing CAPEX (capital expenditure) in Australia peaked in 2005 and has never fully recovered. It’s now at its lowest level since 2001.
- Australia has one of the lowest numbers of researchers in business enterprises (PhD graduates) in developed nations (3 workers per 1000)[1]. This compares to Finland (14 per 1000), the US (9 per 1000) and Germany (7 per 1000).
- The fourth industrial revolution, or what the Germans refer to as ‘Industry 4.0’, is set to become a reality in the coming decade. Also known as ‘integrated industry’, this revolution will revolve around smart products, procedures and processes.
- In net terms, since 1994 employment Australia’s manufacturing sector has fallen from 1.1 million workers to approximately 950,000 workers – or a decline of around 15%, but still remains the country’s equal 5th largest sector, contributing 6.3 per cent of Australia’s total GDP
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Multinational Enterprise (MNE) coordinated Global Value Chains are estimated to account for 80% of global trade. [2]