Trade of manufactured goods. Consumer goods (nonfood) and means of production

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 430.

Theme 7. International trade of industrial goods. Markets of machines and equipment

1. Trade of manufactured goods. Consumer goods (nonfood) and means of production.

2. International trade of consumer electrogoods and consumer electronics. The largest producers and exporters of consumer electronics.

3. Production and export of vehicles, cars. The main exporters of cars – Japan, the USA and Germany.

4. World markets of machines and equipment. Complete deliveries.

In economics, any tangible commodity which is produced and subsequently consumed by the consumer, to satisfy its current wants or needs, is a consumer good or final good. Consumer goods are goods that are ultimately consumed rather than used in the production of another good. For example, a microwave oven or a mixer grinder which is sold to a consumer is a final good or consumer good, where as the components which are sold to be used in to final good those goods are called intermediate goods. For example, tires for automobile industry or copper which can be used to make some further goods.

When used in measures of national income and output, the term 'final goods' only includes new goods. For instance, the GDP excludes items counted in an earlier year to prevent double countingof production based on resales of the same item second and third hand. In this context the economic definition of goods includes what are commonly known as services.

Manufactured goods are goods that have been processed in any way. As such, they are the opposite of raw materials, but include intermediate goods as well as final goods.

Final goods can be classified in to the following categories:

1. Durable goods

2. Non-durable goods

3. Services

Consumer durable goods usually have a significant life span which tends to be a minimum of 1 year based on guarantee or warranty period and maximum life depends upon the durability of the product or good. Whereas for capital goods which are tangible in nature, such as machinery or building or any other equipment which can be used in manufacturing of final product, these are durable goods with limited life span determined by its manufacturer before selling. The longevity and the often higher cost of durable goods usually cause consumers to postpone expenditures on them, which makes durables the most volatile (or cost-dependent) component of consumption.

Consumer non-durable goods are purchased either for the immediate use or to keep it for very short span of time. Generally the life span of non-durable goods may vary from a few minutes to up to three years. Few examples of such goods are food, beverages, clothing, shoes, and gasoline.

Consumer services are the intangible in nature i.e. they cannot be seen, felt or tasted by the consumer but still they give satisfaction to the consumer. They are also inseparable and variable in nature which means they are produced and consumed simultaneously. Examples of consumer services are haircuts, auto repairs, landscaping etc.