The Press WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 1969. Manufacturing In Canterbury

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32017, 18 June 1969, Page 16

The Press WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 1969. Manufacturing In Canterbury

The average wage rate in manufacturing in New Zealand is $1.06 an hour, compared with 62 cents an hour in Italy and, at the other end of the scale, $2.65 an hour in the United States. New Zealand, according to Mr I. D. Howell, assistant director of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association, has, comparatively, a low cost of living and low wage costs. “ilf “ we can hold our cost of living and therefore our “ wage costs, this could be a major structural advan- ** tage for our future industrial expansion ”, says Mr Howell who, after a three-month study tour overseas, is optimistic about New Zealand—and especially

Relative wage levels and costs of living are, of course, not the only determinants of manufacturing efficiency; if they were, the United States would have long ago priced itself off world markets. American manufacturers are able to export competitively mainly because of their huge output, which gives them economies of scale few other countries can approach. New Zealand’s manufacturing future lies in quite other directions; and Mr Howell found a surprising number of successful exporters among the small firms he visited in the United Kingdom and Scandinavia.

In the United Kingdom 73 per cent of manufacturing concerns employ fewer than 50 persons; comparable percentages in other countries are 95 in France, 94 in Norway, 85 in Sweden, 93 in New Zealand—and 86 among the members of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association. Some of these smaller firms visited by Mr Howell employed fewer than 20 persons, yet still exported a high proportion of their output In the United Kingdom last year, 33 of the 85 Queen’s Awards for industry were won by some of the smaller firms; and Mr Howell says he is sure that a similar trend will develop in New Zealand.

Many of the tax incentives and other State aids to industry described by Mr Howell are not available to New Zealand manufacturers; but if the important changes recommended by the National Development Conference are put into effect they will gain at least some comparable advantages. “ After “ meeting industrialists in Sweden, Norway, and “ Denmark, I formed the opinion that their industrial “growth has been in a climate similar to that proposed by the N.D.C.”, says Mr Howell. “Our “ future development will depend on how we best “ use our national assets, including our well-qualified “ labour force and our creative ability ”. It is good to hear from a competent observer such an encouraging assessment of New Zealand’s manufacturing capabilities. The spectacular growth of exports of manufactured goods in the last two years suggests that Mr Howell’s optimism is well founded.