Thread: Aussie Dollar Up, Import prices ??

we can only hope

I'm not an economist either, but am a fully qualified cynic.

Any reduction in import prices because of the appreciation in the $A against the $US will be fully off-set (and more!) by increased fuel costs, increased transport costs, increased wages and most of all increased profits.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news

Originally Posted by Buzzer

Hi,

With the Aussie dollar going up and now around $0.94US, can we expect imported woodworking gear, from the U.S.A., prices to come down?

Will this filter down to the consumer, if at all?

As I am not an economist, there maybe someone that knows more than I.

Ha!



Errrhhhmmmm. Sorry about that.

It seems to be an opportunity to maximise profit or to keep costs from rising. Without claiming collusion, it seems there is little opportunity in the margins to actually reduce prices. Maybe if one company started reducing prices it might snowball.

Also, most machines are made in Asia, very few nowadays are imported from the USA.

i imagine it will be like petrol, when the price goes up we pay more ,when oil prices go down we pay more, bob

Originally Posted by Groggy

Also, most machines are made in Asia, very few nowadays are imported from the USA.

The good thing about them being made in asia is they all work by the $US so you have to check how the $US is in comparason to the county of manufacture to see if there are any savings , the only real way to utilize the strong $AU vs $US is if you are the importer

my 2 cents worth

Glenn

Was reading an article that a lot of Asian companies are moving away from doing business in $US and switching to the Euro.

A lot of the oil nations are doing the same, this is accelerating the slide of the $US.

good time to take out a three year subscription to your favourite us woodworking magazine

but I know of two occasions in the past where the higher Au$ brought down the price of imported woodies gear.

Have to pessimistically agree with Big Shed, would be amazed if prices dropped on USA-sourced goods.

On the other hand, it's a good time to buy direct from USA.

Originally Posted by flynnsart

good time to take out a three year subscription to your favourite us woodworking magazine

Yep, and my last couple of orders for pen kits from the US didn't hurt quite as much either

Originally Posted by robyn2839

i imagine it will be like petrol, when the price goes up we pay more ,when oil prices go down we pay more, bob

Good point, that's one I never thought of.

I suppose importing directly those nick nacks that total less than $1000AUD would be the way to go.

Originally Posted by Big Shed

Yep, and my last couple of orders for pen kits from the US didn't hurt quite as much either

Yep - just bought some tool steel from Enco USA last week, Shoulda' waited till this week! Interestingly their prices have not gone up in 18 Months!

Originally Posted by Buzzer

Hi,

With the Aussie dollar going up and now around $0.94US, can we expect imported woodworking gear, from the U.S.A., prices to come down?

Will this filter down to the consumer, if at all?

As I am not an economist, there maybe someone that knows more than I.

Maybe, but don't hold your breath

Let's say I got a container of WW stuff from the US today.
I would have ordered it 3 to 4 months ago when the AUD$ was worth about USD$0.88, but with transaction fees and the like, the efective rate was probably closer to USD$0.85

Let's say the goods and shipping cost me AUD$50,000 (which is not a lot when you consider 200 items @ $100 ea is $20,000).
So 4 months ago I borrowed $50,000 at 11% to pay for the goods and I expect to sell them all over the next 6 months or so.

but wait there's more ...
Before Customs would give me my container I had to hand over 10% GST and 3% duty, another $4,000 on the overdraft

So as of today, I need to sell the container of stuff for about $60,000 just so I can pay off the loan from the bank.

In practice I need to sell the stuff inside the container for about $120,000 to cover my overheads (rent, wages, etc) and make some sort of return.

AND interest rates are headed northwards as are rents, wages, etc


so my customers may see a small price drop compared to when the USD was $0.77 last January, but it wont be $0.77 vs $0.94, more likely $0.80 vs $0.85 less how much of the inflation impact I decide to pass on


ian

I didn't really take delivery of a container of WW stuff today
AND I definitely don't want to be the Australian retailer of speciality WW stuff

Always a wet blanket somewhere!!