Australian Industrial Equipment Market Overview What’s hot? CS Australia continues to identify niche opportunities with regards to materials handling machinery and equipment. Occupational health and safety is a significant priority of Australian industry. As a result, distributors have also expressed an interest in automation and robotics for manufacturing and warehousing applications. What’s not? CS Australia has had less success with machine tools as this is seen as a very mature industry How does it compare with the Asia-Pacific region? With a population of 23 million and a relatively small manufacturing base, demand for industrial equipment and supplies is small in comparison to other markets in the AP region. General industrial equipment feeds into Australia’s manufacturing industry which accounts for about 10% of Australia’s GDP. The key manufacturing segments are food and beverages, machinery and equipment manufacturing, metal product manufacturing and petrochemical and chemical manufacturing and printing and publishing. There are two key supply/distribution channels: professional engineering supply and retail hardware. The biggest distributor of general industrial goods is Blackwoods owned by Wesfarmers. The largest hardware retailer is Bunnings (also owned by Wesfarmers). Other significant players are Mitre 10 (the largest independent buying group) and Woolworths. One Single Major Shift in the Local Market over the Last 6 Months Toyota has announced that it will cease assembling vehicles in Australia by 2017. The move follows similar announcements made by Ford and General Motors. By 2017 Australia will not have a car manufacturing industry. Why Should You Explore Doing Business in Australia?  It’s English speaking  IP protection is strictly enforced  Our Free Trade Agreement with Australia allows U.S. products to enter duty free  U.S. exports to Australia have jumped by more than 50% since the FTA was signed in 2005  Australia is the 3rd largest market for U.S. mining equipment, 5th largest for food processing equipment, 6th largest for automotive parts, and 9th largest for medical devices. Want more information? Contact John Kanawati Commercial Specialist U.S. Commercial Service Australia john.kanawati@trade.gov Tel.: + 61 2 9373 9207 U.S. Department of Commerce | International Trade Administration | U.S. Commercial Service