Australian chemical firms should be reaping the rewards of restructuring. But, as Elizabeth Ban reports, the jury is still out on the industry's future. When a dockers' strike brought half of Australia's ports to a standstill in the middle of last month, chemical company executives could have been forgiven for losing their cool. With a large and steadily growing trade deficit and the looming threat of cheap Asian imports, manufacturers could barely afford to see their exports stagnate on the dockside. The dispute crowned a bad year for the Australian chemical industry. On top of its traditional problems — a small domestic market, ageing plants and declining investment — the sector began to feel the bite of the Asian financial crisis. Over 1996-97, net profits fell 18% to A$262M, investment levels declined 5.3% and R&D expenditure was down 13%.
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