Tram manufacture

["whitehat" <whitehat@alphalink.com.au>]

It appears that both of Melbourne's tram companies will be buying their new
trams from Europe (Germany and France I think).

The claim is that (among other things) local manufacture could  not compete
on price. What is going on? Local manufacturers claims to be world class.
They are not competing with third world cheap labour but with high wage
European labour. The trams have to be shipped half way around the world at
enormous cost and even with that huge advantage local manufacture cannot
compete.

Am I missing something here?

whitehat