1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2002  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 25/01/2002   
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Contents >> Transport >> International freight activity

Details on the tonnages of freight moved into and out of Australia by sea and air are shown below.


Sea freight activity

There was a steady rise in the weight of both exports and imports moved by sea over the five years to 1999-2000 (table 23.11). The nature of Australia's trade means that the weight of exports far exceeds that of imports. Over this period, the weight of exports increased by 23.9% and that of imports by 20.2%. Most of the tonnage of exports and imports is shipped by bulk carriers or tankers.


23.11 INTERNATIONAL SEA IMPORTS AND EXPORTS - 1995-96 to 1999-2000

million tonnes

Year
Imports
Exports
Total

1995-96
47.1
372.9
420.0
1996-97
49.8
404.0
453.8
1997-98
51.7
427.1
478.8
1998-99
56.3
432.1
488.4
1999-2000
56.6
462.2
518.8

Source: Bureau of Transport Economics; ABS Foreign Trade Database.


Air freight activity

The tonnage of total cargo moved into and out of Australia by air increased slightly in 2000 over the previous year (table 23.12). Tonnage of outgoing freight continued to exceed that of incoming freight (by 4.7% in 2000). In contrast, the tonnage of mail moved out of Australia in 2000 (despite increasing by 20.3%) remained well under the tonnage of incoming mail (which increased by 13.6%). The Australian airlines accounted for 25.9% of incoming and 28.6% of outgoing cargo.

At 31 December 2000 there were seven dedicated freighter airlines operating regular scheduled international air services.


23.12 SCHEDULED INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE TRAFFIC TO AND FROM AUSTRALIA(a) - Year ended December

1999
2000


Type of traffic
Freight

tonnes
Mail

tonnes
Total Cargo

tonnes
Freight

tonnes
Mail

tonnes
Total Cargo

tonnes

TRAFFIC TO AUSTRALIA

Qantas Airways Limited
91,215
5,005
96,220
76,526
5,476
82,002
Ansett Australia
10,364
637
11,001
7,597
306
7,903
Other airlines
233,689
8,515
242,204
247,972
9,760
257,732
All airlines
335,268
14,158
349,426
332,095
15,542
347,637

TRAFFIC FROM AUSTRALIA

Qantas Airways Limited
93,988
8,061
102,049
83,426
11,560
94,986
Ansett Australia
10,251
75
10,326
8,499
12
8,511
Other airlines
242,009
3,024
245,033
255,927
1,850
257,777
All airlines
346,247
11,160
357,407
347,852
13,422
361,274

(a) Australia and Norfolk Island.

Source: Department of Transport and Regional Services.


Table 23.13 shows the main origin/destination pairs for freight moving into and out of Australia. Despite a fall of 7.3% in 2000, the Auckland/Sydney route remains the major contributor with 7.4% of the total freight. The Seoul/Sydney and Singapore/Brisbane routes recorded the most significant increases in 2000, of 52.6% and 22.3%, respectively.


23.13 FREIGHT CARRIED, By City Pairs(a) - Year ended December

1998

tonnes
1999

tonnes
2000

tonnes

Auckland/Sydney
54,849
54,047
50,090
Singapore/Melbourne
34,935
51,096
48,574
Singapore/Sydney
38,758
43,689
46,313
Hong Kong/Sydney
36,789
34,252
33,976
Los Angeles/Sydney
26,500
36,061
32,721
Auckland/Melbourne
32,199
34,722
29,559
Singapore/Perth
26,160
27,436
27,822
Hong Kong/Melbourne
23,821
26,031
25,879
Seoul/Sydney
11,399
12,316
18,792
Singapore/Brisbane
11,823
14,988
18,337
Other city pairs
334,674
344,878
347,889
All city pairs
631,908
681,515
679,948

(a) The table does not necessarily show the final origin/destination of freight. For example, all freight going to or coming from Europe would require a stopover, generally in Asia.

Source: Department of Transport and Regional Services.



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