[84far]

I find this interesting because a lot of builders usually ditch there country and head to China... I think this is a great move due to the "Made in the USA" label, rather than a "Made in China" (no disrespect).

Obviously the Australian Dollar was the reason for the move, shipping costs, (and some bad calls from a nosey little red head running the country), and I wouldn't be surprised if we see this more often.

Aussie dollar sparks Maritimo's US move Local Business | goldcoast.com.au | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Far

P.S. Hopefully the design can improve while it's over there

[SHAZAM]

How ironic.

[Capt J]

I think this is great. I think they have a very innovative design that is very well thought out for your occasional fisherman, but big time family man. I wonder where in the US they'll end up.

I find it interesting that this was part of the article from the link. I guess the Unions ran another company out of their own country

" The "workers" party has made it harder and harder for manufacturers in Australia with the comrades in the unions getting more and more. Anyone noticed the increased number of strikes for higher pay and now the CO2 tax that no other manufacturer in the world pays to be added to costs. Keep kicking the bosses and there will be no manufacturing at all. The marine indusry is screwed, stay tuned for more bad news."
John Melbourne

[dennismc]

Wonder if the "protesters " will protest the loss of the capitalistic bosses ???

[Capt J]

Originally Posted by dennismc

Wonder if the "protesters " will protest the loss of the capitalistic bosses ???

Naw, they'll just get a free un-employment check that they helped themselves recieve. It's pretty ironic that an Australian boat builder, feels they can build them much cheaper in the US. But I guess when you factor shipping them halfway across the world.

[84far]

I think they can, mainly saving on the shipping costs... $5000-$9000 for a 40' container - multiply that to fit a 70' cruiser... there's the profit just there. Keep in mind that there only building there bigger boats 15m+ (50'+)

Plus there saying by this time next year the Aus dollar will be around $1.10-$1.15... I did hear $1.20 (doubt that though). So if you factor that in, why would an American buy a Maritimo when they can buy American boat, lets say at the same price, and more than likely a better boat...?

They can also import there products as they do from China, with there Australian Dollar at and American price... Thoughts....?

Far

[dennismc]

I think they may be a bit premature in assuming the Aussie buck will stay high,
once the factoring of the very left wing Government really starts to kick in, and the US and Europe get a grip on the debt issues, the Aussie buck is destined to below par.
I think there is more to the move than currency issues, they will be looking hard over their" left" shoulder on departure..

[Capt J]

Originally Posted by dennismc

I think they may be a bit premature in assuming the Aussie buck will stay high,
once the factoring of the very left wing Government really starts to kick in, and the US and Europe get a grip on the debt issues, the Aussie buck is destined to below par.
I think there is more to the move than currency issues, they will be looking hard over their" left" shoulder on departure..

I agree about the AUS dollar the the left wing government. However, right now the AUS dollar is high and when they convert it to US dollar to build a factory here, they can build a factory at a deep discount 15-20% less, factor that in with less nazi environmentalism and no labor unions, as well as being more competitive both in time and shipping costs to bring boats to the American market, it makes sense. Also if being more competitive allows them to sell more boats in the US market, and the AUS dollar tanks, when they convert the profits back home they'll be at a premium.....I guess they're hedging their income. If the Mexican government was more stable, and they could ensure quality of work, that would make even more sense with NAFTA as labor is considerably cheaper there as is land for a factory.

[GrahamF]

Originally Posted by dennismc

I think they may be a bit premature in assuming the Aussie buck will stay high,
once the factoring of the very left wing Government really starts to kick in, and the US and Europe get a grip on the debt issues, the Aussie buck is destined to below par.
I think there is more to the move than currency issues, they will be looking hard over their" left" shoulder on departure..

Have you seen the state of the EU economy lately, it will take years for Europe to get back to what is was and i dont think it will ever recover to what it was. The Aussie dollar could stay high for while.

[Capt J]

Originally Posted by GrahamF

Have you seen the state of the EU economy lately, it will take years for Europe to get back to what is was and i dont think it will ever recover to what it was. The Aussie dollar could stay high for while.

Yes, but the Euro is still $1.38 right now.
Right now the AUS dollar is $1.02, they seem to be concerned about the US market and their relation to the U.S. dollar and they're building a factory in the US market to sell boats in the US market and want to be competitive in that market not the European market.

I'm not familiar with Maritimo's build quality. I ran 1 58' about 2 miles and loaded it onto a ship. However, their layout is VERY versatile and very nice and I see how it can appeal to a broad range of buyers.

[dennismc]

At 1.02 it's still on the high side, I could see it at 95c mid 2021, I really doubt it's a currency related move, any Corp. that bets on currency to help it's bottom line and sales is really gambling.

When Crescent Yachts in Vancouver was doing real well they sold into the US market with an 85C dollar cost, as soon as the Cdn dollar went over 95c to the US, the company could not really compete in the high end market, same as West Bay ..

I feel the advantage may come in lower production costs as Australia is heavily unionized and it's almost a birthright over there.

[Capt J]

Originally Posted by dennismc

At 1.02 it's still on the high side, I could see it at 95c mid 2021, I really doubt it's a currency related move, any Corp. that bets on currency to help it's bottom line and sales is really gambling.

When Crescent Yachts in Vancouver was doing real well they sold into the US market with an 85C dollar cost, as soon as the Cdn dollar went over 95c to the US, the company could not really compete in the high end market, same as West Bay ..

I feel the advantage may come in lower production costs as Australia is heavily unionized and it's almost a birthright over there.

Lower production costs and don't forget the lower shipping costs and time delay of them getting here from waiting on a freighter and making the journey.

[84far]

Originally Posted by Capt J

Yes, but the Euro is still $1.38 right now.
Right now the AUS dollar is $1.02, they seem to be concerned about the US market and their relation to the U.S. dollar and they're building a factory in the US market to sell boats in the US market and want to be competitive in that market not the European market.

I'm not familiar with Maritimo's build quality. I ran 1 58' about 2 miles and loaded it onto a ship. However, their layout is VERY versatile and very nice and I see how it can appeal to a broad range of buyers.

The build quality for what the boat is, would be very good, including the electrics . Australia does get a a lot of products from China and the USA, Jabsco, TMC, Harken etc etc. And China usually works on the USD. I guess this why it made the move to the US of A more favourable then Euro countries.

I would say this whole move would only last until everything gets back to normal... 10-15 years at most, and I think they will re-establish them selves back down under...? Having said that when the orders for the bigger boats starts picking up again down under, they already have the infrastructure in place to start pumping the boats out again.

The Aus Dollar went back down a few weeks back to $0.96 (Euros buying a lot of USD), and as I was saying to NYCAP the other day, Australia really plays the game well when we are down around $0.85 to the USD.

And don't get me started on the unions, it usually depends on who's in goverment... so there's a few strikes on at the moment.

Far

[Capt J]

It would make just as much sense to keep 2 plants later on down the road and have the US plant service North and South America sales, and I think the boats would be more sellable because they'd probably have more traditional North American electrical and parts. They could also keep the AUS plant to sell to AUS and the Euro and with the Euro being much higher than the AUS dollar it would be a win win......BUT who knows what their intentions are. It might be just a load of hot air, to get their union to be more agreeable.

I know the UAW put Neptunus out of business. They had to pay $68 an hour to the lowest paid employee when all of the UAW benefits were included, and couldn't make any money with the outrageous labor costs. They operate Union free under the new company and new owner and are building a bunch of boats again. The workers have jobs, the companies building boats, and everybodies happy.

[tirekicker11]

Originally Posted by 84far

I find this interesting because a lot of builders usually ditch there country and head to China... I think this is a great move due to the "Made in the USA" label, rather than a "Made in China" (no disrespect).

It's not always cheaper to build in China. Just learned that one builder is moving out of China and into South Africa because China is more expensive.
Building in China can only be cheaper when the entire process is done from China; R&D, sourcing etc. etc.