Supply Chain Pressures Affect Australian Manufacturers Steady Recovery

Manufacturing at a Brisbane factory in Australia, on Jan 25, 2017. AAP Image/Glenn Hunt

While Australian manufacturing has bounced back due to easing COVID-19 restrictions, the recovery faces another major hurdle, labour and material shortages on a scale not seen in almost 50 years.

An Australian Chamber Of Commerce And Industry (ACCI)—Westpac survey (pdf) revealed that business conditions modestly improved in the early stages of 2022 despite supply chain constraints with increasing consumer demand in response to easing pandemic restrictions has contributed to the uptick.