Executive Mastermind

Post Election Business Opportunities

Australians didn’t get to vote in the recent US Presidential Elections, but we stand to benefit more than most countries around the world from the change in government and president there, with some surprising post election business opportunities.

How could that be?

In Mr Trump’s acceptance speech on the night of the election, he talked about building bridges, as has almost every election winner since time immemorial; however, he also talked about literally building and rebuilding bridges as well.  This is where we stand to benefit.

Three decades ago, I was involved in R&D in the manufacture of a cement additive product, which had massive concrete spalling repair abilities and global applications.  One of the statistics then, was that in the USA alone, there was an estimated urgent cost factor of $3 TRILLION USD in repairs to just the most urgent bridges and roadway structures across the USA.  And that was at dollar values 3 decades ago!

Let’s think about this.  The USA is a country approximately the size of the land mass of Australia, but it has way more than 10 times the population spread over that land mass, including in the desert and semi-arid regions on the mid-west.  It has a much more harsh climate in general, with incredible cold and snowy winters, requiring salt to be laid on the roads to prevent icing and enable driving conditions to be maintained.  Many roads require snow ploughs through winter, and they create their own road damage issues.  In the centre and south, there are massive annual hurricanes and tornadoes – they even have a land area called Tornado Alley!  The snow and salt applications, the hurricanes in the south and the flooding rains that result from these storms, also cause havoc with their roads infrastructure.

How does this turn into post election business opportunities for us?

In the last 3 decades, no US president or government has come to power planning to spend money on this infrastructure.  The USA has gone on being a super power – spending big on defence, on climate change, on medical programs, on international relations and donations, but not on this critical infrastructure.

Until now.

Since Donald Trump made those commitments immediately after his election, our iron ore price has surged to $80 per tonne – it’s even been nicknamed the “Trump Bump” – up 17.5% since the election and still rising.  The futures market has it over $90 per tonne and rising still.

Coal prices have risen 10% since the election and coal futures are soaring also.

The share price of BHP rose 8% and the share market soared to its highest values in years for both the USA and Australian Stock Exchanges.

How do post election business opportunities manifest to the Australian families?

Our declining mining and resources sectors have been thrown more than a lifeline – they have a decade long commitment from the biggest shopping basket on the planet to buy lots of iron ore and coal.  Whether it comes from Australia or not doesn’t matter; the market overall has been given a massive injection of confidence, meaning our Australian resources sector comes alive again.  Our national debt levels, the budget deficit, could be wiped out years earlier than estimated.  Our own economy could be trading without debt, and therefore without paying massive sums of interest to global lenders, in just a couple of years, rather than a decade.

That means tax relief is possible.  It means our own infrastructure investment becomes possible.  Government spending on our own economic growth, which is where a massive amount of employment and job security comes from, suddenly has life again.

But let’s get specific.  Where are the post election business opportunities for small businesses?  After all, these are the major employers in this country.

What does it take to build a bridge?

It takes design and planning, engineers, architects and road building and construction teams and subcontractors.  It takes machinery manufacturers and maintenance teams.  It takes fuel supplies.

It takes people being employed!

Where previously, USA companies were out looking for work around the world and competing with our companies because there was little happening for them in the USA, now they will be busy back in the USA, meaning two things for our companies.

1.     Less competition for our jobs here in Australia

2.     More opportunity for us to compete for work over there and elsewhere in our region

In addition, the flow-on and support businesses that were in decline, such as the mining equipment maintenance and support businesses, mechanics, fuel providers, mine road maintenance crews, railway engine drivers and more, all have futures again.

When our resources sector unemployment goes down, our hospitality and holiday industries peak – with the aviation and accommodation industries expecting a boost from the mining and resource sectors boost, our local economies, from the little towns in Central Queensland and Western Australia that house the mining communities, to the destination on the coasts where the FIFO workers fly to on their days off, we all experience a boost.

Think about it now – exactly how will your industry, what you do in your business, benefit from this boost to our mining and resources sector resurgence?

If you need assistance mapping out how to take advantage of this surprising outcome, contact me and I’ll see how I can help.  There may be a whole lot more in these post election business opportunities than anyone expected!

Til next time, take time to enjoy the life you live.

Ray Jamieson