Home topics news Source: Josh Beech on Unsplash News News The case of Australia’s ‘squeezed middle-class’ manufacturers Yajush Gupta December 14, 2023 A new report on the health of Australian manufacturers has found the industry is in good health, but there’s a shrinking middle class, According to the report , at 63 out of 100, Australian manufacturers have successfully rebounded from their pandemic woes, improving their supply chain management, stock levels, and overall profitability “If you were going off of the news alone, you would probably think industries like construction, beverage, and clothing manufacturing were on the brink of collapse. The truth is, as always, in the numbers,” said Jarrod Adam, Unleashed “Australian manufacturing is facing various headwinds including pressure from overseas manufacturing, market consolidation, and tightening pockets, but it’s showing that it’s remaining resilient, despite it all.” The Manufacturing Health Index determines the industry fitness on a scale of 0-100 for small to medium-sized manufacturers throughout New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The index is calculated using a combination of sales, expenditure and overall efficiency metrics, analysing 2658 manufacturers across 16 different industry categories. The haves and the have-nots in Australian manufacturing Despite a positive overall score, Q3 2023 has been a case of the haves and the have nots in Australian manufacturing, where the majority of the 16 sectors studied are either doing poorly, or doing very well. Nine out of the 16 industries scored 39 or below, and the remaining seven registered a health score of