International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia

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Provides estimates for 15 months of the major aggregates for, and the balance on, international trade in goods and services

Reference period

January 2020

Released

5/03/2020

View all releases

Key statistics

Goods and services credits fell 3% to $40,122m.
Goods and services debits fell 3% to $34,911m.
The balance on goods and services was a surplus of $4,984m seasonally adjusted.

Main features

January key points

Balance on goods and services

In trend terms, the balance on goods and services was a surplus of $4,984m in January 2020, a decrease of $83m on the surplus in December 2019.
In seasonally adjusted terms, the balance on goods and services was a surplus of $5,210m in January 2020, a decrease of $166m on the surplus in December 2019.

Credits (exports of goods and services)

In seasonally adjusted terms, goods and services credits fell $1,166m (3%) to $40,122m. Non-monetary gold fell $735m (34%), non-rural goods fell $714m (3%) and net exports of goods under merchanting fell $8m. Rural goods rose $236m (6%). Services credits rose $54m (1%).

Debits (imports of goods and services)

In seasonally adjusted terms, goods and services debits fell $1,001m (3%) to $34,911m. Capital goods fell $640m (10%), intermediate and other merchandise goods fell $466m (4%) and consumption goods fell $19m. Non-monetary gold rose $225m (60%). Services debits fell $101m (1%).

Key figures

		Nov 2019	Dec 2019	Jan 2020	Dec 19 to Jan 20
		$m	$m	$m	% change
BALANCE ON GOODS AND SERVICES
	Trend estimates	5 294	5 067	4 984	-2
	Seasonally adjusted	5 656	5 376	5 210	-3
CREDITS (Exports of goods & services)
	Trend estimates	40 848	40 581	40 371	-1
	Seasonally adjusted	40 802	41 288	40 122	-3
DEBITS (Imports of goods & services)
	Trend estimates	35 554	35 514	35 387	-
	Seasonally adjusted	35 146	35 912	34 911	-3

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

Balance on goods and services
	Trend estimates ($m)	Seasonally adjusted ($m)
Oct 2018	2,738	2,639
Nov 2018	3,246	2,636
Dec 2018	3,815	4,108
Jan 2019	4,409	4,686
Feb 2019	5,017	5,078
Mar 2019	5,621	4,668
Apr 2019	6,204	4,705
May 2019	6,643	5,906
Jun 2019	6,857	8,073
Jul 2019	6,818	7,551
Aug 2019	6,531	6,353
Sep 2019	6,097	5,792
Oct 2019	5,635	4,024
Nov 2019	5,294	5,656
Dec 2019	5,067	5,376
Jan 2020	4,984	5,210

Balance on goods and services

["","Trend estimates","Seasonally adjusted"]

[["Oct 2018","Nov 2018","Dec 2018","Jan 2019","Feb 2019","Mar 2019","Apr 2019","May 2019","Jun 2019","Jul 2019","Aug 2019","Sep 2019","Oct 2019","Nov 2019","Dec 2019","Jan 2020"],[[2738],[3246],[3815],[4409],[5017],[5621],[6204],[6643],[6857],[6818],[6531],[6097],[5635],[5294],[5067],[4984]],[[2639],[2636],[4108],[4686],[5078],[4668],[4705],[5906],[8073],[7551],[6353],[5792],[4024],[5656],[5376],[5210]]]

[]

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Bushfires and COVID-19 in January month

Quality assurance undertaken by the ABS confirmed that the bushfires and the COVID-19 virus did not result in quality impacts to International Trade in Goods and Services statistics for January 2020. For information on the expected economic impacts of the Bushfires and COVID-19, please see the ABS Chief Economist Series paper Measuring natural disasters in the Australian economy.

Analysis and comments

Balance on goods and services

In trend terms, the balance on goods and services was a surplus of $4,984m in January 2020, a decrease of $83m on the surplus in December 2019.

In seasonally adjusted terms, the balance on goods and services was a surplus of $5,210m in January 2020, a decrease of $166m on the surplus in December 2019.

Goods and services summary(a), seasonally adjusted and trend

				Nov 2019	Dec 2019	Jan 2020	Change in:
				Nov 2019	Dec 2019	Jan 2020	Jan 2020	Jan 2020
				$m	$m	$m	$m	%
Seasonally Adjusted
BALANCE on goods and services				5 656	5 376	5 210	-166	-3
CREDITS
	Total goods and services			40 802	41 288	40 122	-1 166	-3
		Total goods		32 117	32 651	31 430	-1 221	-4
			Rural goods(b)	4 064	4 109	4 345	236	6
			Non-rural goods(b)	26 145	26 368	25 654	-714	-3
			Net exports of goods under merchanting(c)	5	6	-2	-8	-133
			Non-monetary gold(c)	1 902	2 168	1 433	-735	-34
		Total services		8 685	8 638	8 692	54	1
DEBITS
	Total goods and services			-35 146	-35 912	-34 911	-1 001	-3
		Total goods		-26 562	-27 148	-26 248	-900	-3
			Consumption goods	-8 613	-8 936	-8 917	-19	-
			Capital goods	-6 273	-6 592	-5 952	-640	-10
			Intermediate and other merchandise goods	-11 196	-11 242	-10 776	-466	-4
			Non-monetary gold(c)	-480	-378	-603	225	60
		Total services		-8 583	-8 764	-8 663	-101	-1
Trend(d)
BALANCE on goods and services				5 294	5 067	4 984	-83	-2
CREDITS
	Total goods and services			40 848	40 581	40 371	-210	-1
		Total goods		32 194	31 909	31 688	-221	-1
			Rural goods(b)	4 090	4 176	4 250	74	2
			Non-rural goods(b)	26 036	25 817	25 704	-113	-
			Net exports of goods under merchanting	6	4	1	-3	-75
			Non-monetary gold	2 062	1 912	1 732	-180	-9
		Total services		8 655	8 672	8 683	11	-
DEBITS
	Total goods and services			-35 554	-35 514	-35 387	-127	-
		Total goods		-26 861	-26 828	-26 711	-117	-
			Consumption goods	-8 908	-8 917	-8 901	-16	-
			Capital goods	-6 343	-6 341	-6 311	-30	-
			Intermediate and other merchandise goods	-11 060	-11 084	-11 067	-17	-
			Non-monetary gold	-550	-486	-433	-53	-11
		Total services		-8 693	-8 686	-8 676	-10	-

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
a. For sign conventions, see paragraph 15 of the Methodology.
b. For all time periods, estimates for sugar, sugar preparations and honey are included in Non-rural goods.
c. This component is not seasonally adjusted.
d. Caution should be used when interpreting recent trend estimates as they may be affected by unusual economic factors. For more details on trend estimates, see paragraph 19 of the Methodology.

Exports of goods and services

Between December 2019 and January 2020, the trend estimate of goods and services credits fell $210m (1%) to $40,371m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, goods and services credits fell $1,166m (3%) to $40,122m. Non-monetary gold fell $735m (34%), non-rural goods fell $714m (3%) and net exports of goods under merchanting fell $8m. Rural goods rose $236m (6%). Services credits rose $54m (1%).

Exports of goods

Goods credits
	Trend estimates ($m)	Seasonally adjusted ($m)
Jan 2016	19,648	19,183
Feb 2016	19,590	19,478
Mar 2016	19,704	20,154
Apr 2016	19,908	20,140
May 2016	20,073	20,317
Jun 2016	20,194	19,887
Jul 2016	20,492	20,694
Aug 2016	21,164	20,887
Sep 2016	22,232	21,774
Oct 2016	23,559	22,292
Nov 2016	24,870	25,282
Dec 2016	25,896	28,051
Jan 2017	26,467	25,901
Feb 2017	26,556	26,199
Mar 2017	26,250	26,502
Apr 2017	25,777	23,525
May 2017	25,352	25,546
Jun 2017	25,065	25,101
Jul 2017	24,847	24,585
Aug 2017	24,691	24,592
Sep 2017	24,712	25,278
Oct 2017	24,958	24,688
Nov 2017	25,392	24,808
Dec 2017	25,933	25,640
Jan 2018	26,482	27,100
Feb 2018	26,980	27,560
Mar 2018	27,405	27,580
Apr 2018	27,756	26,891
May 2018	28,074	27,965
Jun 2018	28,471	28,874
Jul 2018	28,923	28,848
Aug 2018	29,369	29,380
Sep 2018	29,744	29,740
Oct 2018	30,108	30,344
Nov 2018	30,507	30,785
Dec 2018	30,963	30,086
Jan 2019	31,440	32,085
Feb 2019	31,957	32,022
Mar 2019	32,499	31,147
Apr 2019	33,032	31,844
May 2019	33,453	33,391
Jun 2019	33,647	33,996
Jul 2019	33,614	34,537
Aug 2019	33,384	33,056
Sep 2019	32,995	33,311
Oct 2019	32,558	31,571
Nov 2019	32,194	32,117
Dec 2019	31,909	32,651
Jan 2020	31,688	31,430

Goods credits

["","Trend estimates","Seasonally adjusted"]

[["Jan 2016","Feb 2016","Mar 2016","Apr 2016","May 2016","Jun 2016","Jul 2016","Aug 2016","Sep 2016","Oct 2016","Nov 2016","Dec 2016","Jan 2017","Feb 2017","Mar 2017","Apr 2017","May 2017","Jun 2017","Jul 2017","Aug 2017","Sep 2017","Oct 2017","Nov 2017","Dec 2017","Jan 2018","Feb 2018","Mar 2018","Apr 2018","May 2018","Jun 2018","Jul 2018","Aug 2018","Sep 2018","Oct 2018","Nov 2018","Dec 2018","Jan 2019","Feb 2019","Mar 2019","Apr 2019","May 2019","Jun 2019","Jul 2019","Aug 2019","Sep 2019","Oct 2019","Nov 2019","Dec 2019","Jan 2020"],[[19648],[19590],[19704],[19908],[20073],[20194],[20492],[21164],[22232],[23559],[24870],[25896],[26467],[26556],[26250],[25777],[25352],[25065],[24847],[24691],[24712],[24958],[25392],[25933],[26482],[26980],[27405],[27756],[28074],[28471],[28923],[29369],[29744],[30108],[30507],[30963],[31440],[31957],[32499],[33032],[33453],[33647],[33614],[33384],[32995],[32558],[32194],[31909],[31688]],[[19183],[19478],[20154],[20140],[20317],[19887],[20694],[20887],[21774],[22292],[25282],[28051],[25901],[26199],[26502],[23525],[25546],[25101],[24585],[24592],[25278],[24688],[24808],[25640],[27100],[27560],[27580],[26891],[27965],[28874],[28848],[29380],[29740],[30344],[30785],[30086],[32085],[32022],[31147],[31844],[33391],[33996],[34537],[33056],[33311],[31571],[32117],[32651],[31430]]]

[]

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Goods credits, seasonally adjusted

				Nov 2019	Dec 2019	Jan 2020	Change in:
				Nov 2019	Dec 2019	Jan 2020	Jan 2020	Jan 2020
				$m	$m	$m	$m	%
Total goods credits				32 117	32 651	31 430	-1 221	-4
	General merchandise			30 210	30 477	29 999	-478	-2
		Rural goods		4 064	4 109	4 345	236	6
			Meat and meat preparations	1 566	1 575	1 680	105	7
			Cereal grains and cereal preparations	528	477	595	118	25
			Wool and sheepskins	255	241	287	46	19
			Other rural(a)	1 715	1 815	1 783	-32	-2
		Non-rural goods		26 145	26 368	25 654	-714	-3
			Metal ores and minerals(b)	10 628	10 919	10 127	-792	-7
			Coal, coke and briquettes(c)	4 531	4 525	4 364	-161	-4
			Other mineral fuels(b)(d)	5 220	5 354	5 613	259	5
			Metals (excl. non-monetary gold)	1 093	1 026	999	-27	-3
			Machinery	1 084	975	989	14	1
			Transport equipment	460	491	511	20	4
			Other manufactures	2 152	2 104	2 124	20	1
			Other non-rural (incl. sugar and beverages)(a)	844	816	782	-34	-4
			Goods procured in ports by carriers(d)	133	157	145	-12	-8
	Net exports of goods under merchanting(e)			5	6	-2	-8	-133
	Non-monetary gold(e)			1 902	2 168	1 433	-735	-34

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
a. For all time periods, estimates for sugar, sugar preparations and honey are included in Other non-rural.
b. From July 2005, this component is seasonally adjusted using seasonal factors derived from a monthly volume series.
c. From July 1971 to June 2005, only a length-of-month adjustment has been applied to this component. From July 2005, this component is seasonally adjusted using seasonal factors derived from a monthly volume series.
d. In using these seasonally adjusted series, care should be exercised because of the difficulties associated with reliably estimating the seasonal pattern.
e. This component is not seasonally adjusted.

Rural goods

In trend terms, exports of rural goods rose $74m (2%) to $4,250m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, exports of rural goods rose $236m (6%) to $4,345m.

The main component contributing to the rise in seasonally adjusted estimates were:

Cereal grains and cereal preparations, up $118m (25%)
Meat and meat preparations, up $105m (7%).

Non-rural goods

In trend terms, exports of non-rural goods fell $113m to $25,704m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, exports of non-rural goods fell $714m (3%) to $25,654m.

The main components contributing to the fall in seasonally adjusted estimates were:

metal ores and minerals, down $792m (7%)
coal, coke and briquettes, down $161m (4%).

Partially offsetting these falls was other mineral fuels, up $259m (5%).

For price and volume details, see the Selected commodities section.

Net exports of goods under merchanting

In trend terms, net exports of goods under merchanting fell $3m to $1m.

In original and seasonally adjusted terms, net exports of goods under merchanting fell $8m to -$2m.

Non-monetary gold

In trend terms, exports of non-monetary gold fell $180m (9%) to $1,732m.

In original and seasonally adjusted terms, exports of non-monetary gold fell $735m (34%) to $1,433m.

Exports of services

Services credits
	Trend estimates ($m)	Seasonally adjusted ($m)
Jan 2016	6,355	6,283
Feb 2016	6,343	6,338
Mar 2016	6,331	6,395
Apr 2016	6,338	6,285
May 2016	6,371	6,338
Jun 2016	6,429	6,367
Jul 2016	6,497	6,574
Aug 2016	6,569	6,572
Sep 2016	6,639	6,676
Oct 2016	6,693	6,682
Nov 2016	6,737	6,721
Dec 2016	6,790	6,760
Jan 2017	6,864	6,952
Feb 2017	6,955	6,835
Mar 2017	7,047	6,926
Apr 2017	7,123	7,329
May 2017	7,171	7,222
Jun 2017	7,189	7,171
Jul 2017	7,175	7,120
Aug 2017	7,142	7,135
Sep 2017	7,115	7,164
Oct 2017	7,122	7,115
Nov 2017	7,169	7,144
Dec 2017	7,247	7,095
Jan 2018	7,345	7,395
Feb 2018	7,448	7,570
Mar 2018	7,542	7,536
Apr 2018	7,617	7,621
May 2018	7,676	7,638
Jun 2018	7,728	7,729
Jul 2018	7,784	7,754
Aug 2018	7,844	7,884
Sep 2018	7,903	7,896
Oct 2018	7,960	7,978
Nov 2018	8,016	8,005
Dec 2018	8,071	8,037
Jan 2019	8,127	8,113
Feb 2019	8,185	8,273
Mar 2019	8,246	8,216
Apr 2019	8,311	8,263
May 2019	8,378	8,380
Jun 2019	8,447	8,459
Jul 2019	8,513	8,513
Aug 2019	8,568	8,589
Sep 2019	8,607	8,628
Oct 2019	8,634	8,611
Nov 2019	8,655	8,685
Dec 2019	8,672	8,638
Jan 2020	8,683	8,692

Services credits

["","Trend estimates","Seasonally adjusted"]

[["Jan 2016","Feb 2016","Mar 2016","Apr 2016","May 2016","Jun 2016","Jul 2016","Aug 2016","Sep 2016","Oct 2016","Nov 2016","Dec 2016","Jan 2017","Feb 2017","Mar 2017","Apr 2017","May 2017","Jun 2017","Jul 2017","Aug 2017","Sep 2017","Oct 2017","Nov 2017","Dec 2017","Jan 2018","Feb 2018","Mar 2018","Apr 2018","May 2018","Jun 2018","Jul 2018","Aug 2018","Sep 2018","Oct 2018","Nov 2018","Dec 2018","Jan 2019","Feb 2019","Mar 2019","Apr 2019","May 2019","Jun 2019","Jul 2019","Aug 2019","Sep 2019","Oct 2019","Nov 2019","Dec 2019","Jan 2020"],[[6355],[6343],[6331],[6338],[6371],[6429],[6497],[6569],[6639],[6693],[6737],[6790],[6864],[6955],[7047],[7123],[7171],[7189],[7175],[7142],[7115],[7122],[7169],[7247],[7345],[7448],[7542],[7617],[7676],[7728],[7784],[7844],[7903],[7960],[8016],[8071],[8127],[8185],[8246],[8311],[8378],[8447],[8513],[8568],[8607],[8634],[8655],[8672],[8683]],[[6283],[6338],[6395],[6285],[6338],[6367],[6574],[6572],[6676],[6682],[6721],[6760],[6952],[6835],[6926],[7329],[7222],[7171],[7120],[7135],[7164],[7115],[7144],[7095],[7395],[7570],[7536],[7621],[7638],[7729],[7754],[7884],[7896],[7978],[8005],[8037],[8113],[8273],[8216],[8263],[8380],[8459],[8513],[8589],[8628],[8611],[8685],[8638],[8692]]]

[]

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Services credits, seasonally adjusted

			Nov 2019	Dec 2019	Jan 2020	Change in:
			Nov 2019	Dec 2019	Jan 2020	Jan 2020	Jan 2020
			$m	$m	$m	$m	%
Total services credits			8 685	8 638	8 692	54	1
	Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others(a)		-	-	-	-	-
	Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.(a)		4	5	4	-1	-20
	Transport		685	682	688	6	1
		Passenger(b)	272	266	265	-1	-
		Freight(c)	30	31	31	-	-
		Other	248	249	252	3	1
		Postal and courier services(d)	135	137	141	4	3
	Travel		5 675	5 607	5 632	25	-
	Other services		2 321	2 344	2 368	24	1
Memorandum item
	Tourism related services credits(e)		5 947	5 873	5 897	24	-

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
na not available
a. This component is not seasonally adjusted.
b. Passenger services includes agency fees and commissions for air transport.
c. In using these seasonally adjusted series, care should be exercised because of the difficulties associated with reliably estimating the seasonal pattern.
d. Postal and courier services includes indirect commissions for sea transport.
e. For a more detailed explanation of tourism related services, see paragraph 29 of the Methodology.

In trend terms, services credits rose $11m to $8,683m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, services credits rose $54m (1%) to $8,692m.

The main component contributing to the rise in seasonally adjusted estimates were:

travel, up $25m
other services, up $24m (1%).

In seasonally adjusted terms, tourism related services credits rose $24m to $5,897m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, total services credits contributed 22% of total goods and services exported.

Imports of goods and services

Between December 2019 and January 2020, the trend estimate of goods and services debits fell $127m to $35,387m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, goods and services debits fell $1,001m (3%) to $34,911m. Capital goods fell $640m (10%), intermediate and other merchandise goods fell $466m (4%) and consumption goods fell $19m. Non-monetary gold rose $225m (60%). Services debits fell $101m (1%).

Imports of goods

Goods debits
	Trend estimates ($m)	Seasonally adjusted ($m)
Jan 2016	22,199	21,761
Feb 2016	21,867	21,980
Mar 2016	21,702	22,020
Apr 2016	21,688	21,339
May 2016	21,772	21,750
Jun 2016	21,917	22,263
Jul 2016	22,080	22,328
Aug 2016	22,297	22,480
Sep 2016	22,544	21,982
Oct 2016	22,792	23,102
Nov 2016	23,029	22,853
Dec 2016	23,258	23,177
Jan 2017	23,449	24,300
Feb 2017	23,596	22,671
Mar 2017	23,698	24,062
Apr 2017	23,773	23,702
May 2017	23,835	23,463
Jun 2017	23,829	23,824
Jul 2017	23,818	24,176
Aug 2017	23,876	23,782
Sep 2017	24,055	23,981
Oct 2017	24,403	23,923
Nov 2017	24,818	24,249
Dec 2017	25,228	26,562
Jan 2018	25,575	25,667
Feb 2018	25,833	25,566
Mar 2018	26,024	25,968
Apr 2018	26,188	25,570
May 2018	26,349	26,852
Jun 2018	26,574	26,770
Jul 2018	26,791	26,621
Aug 2018	26,907	27,038
Sep 2018	26,947	26,535
Oct 2018	26,914	27,252
Nov 2018	26,824	27,702
Dec 2018	26,743	25,449
Jan 2019	26,663	27,091
Feb 2019	26,612	26,703
Mar 2019	26,590	26,220
Apr 2019	26,572	26,811
May 2019	26,576	27,182
Jun 2019	26,580	25,786
Jul 2019	26,618	26,872
Aug 2019	26,715	26,496
Sep 2019	26,798	27,361
Oct 2019	26,856	27,500
Nov 2019	26,861	26,562
Dec 2019	26,828	27,148
Jan 2020	26,711	26,248

Goods debits

["","Trend estimates","Seasonally adjusted"]

[["Jan 2016","Feb 2016","Mar 2016","Apr 2016","May 2016","Jun 2016","Jul 2016","Aug 2016","Sep 2016","Oct 2016","Nov 2016","Dec 2016","Jan 2017","Feb 2017","Mar 2017","Apr 2017","May 2017","Jun 2017","Jul 2017","Aug 2017","Sep 2017","Oct 2017","Nov 2017","Dec 2017","Jan 2018","Feb 2018","Mar 2018","Apr 2018","May 2018","Jun 2018","Jul 2018","Aug 2018","Sep 2018","Oct 2018","Nov 2018","Dec 2018","Jan 2019","Feb 2019","Mar 2019","Apr 2019","May 2019","Jun 2019","Jul 2019","Aug 2019","Sep 2019","Oct 2019","Nov 2019","Dec 2019","Jan 2020"],[[22199],[21867],[21702],[21688],[21772],[21917],[22080],[22297],[22544],[22792],[23029],[23258],[23449],[23596],[23698],[23773],[23835],[23829],[23818],[23876],[24055],[24403],[24818],[25228],[25575],[25833],[26024],[26188],[26349],[26574],[26791],[26907],[26947],[26914],[26824],[26743],[26663],[26612],[26590],[26572],[26576],[26580],[26618],[26715],[26798],[26856],[26861],[26828],[26711]],[[21761],[21980],[22020],[21339],[21750],[22263],[22328],[22480],[21982],[23102],[22853],[23177],[24300],[22671],[24062],[23702],[23463],[23824],[24176],[23782],[23981],[23923],[24249],[26562],[25667],[25566],[25968],[25570],[26852],[26770],[26621],[27038],[26535],[27252],[27702],[25449],[27091],[26703],[26220],[26811],[27182],[25786],[26872],[26496],[27361],[27500],[26562],[27148],[26248]]]

[]

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Goods debits(a), seasonally adjusted

				Nov 2019	Dec 2019	Jan 2020	Change in:
				Nov 2019	Dec 2019	Jan 2020	Jan 2020	Jan 2020
				$m	$m	$m	$m	%
Total goods debits				-26 562	-27 148	-26 248	-900	-3
	General merchandise			-26 082	-26 770	-25 645	-1 125	-4
		Consumption goods		-8 613	-8 936	-8 917	-19	-
			Food and beverages, mainly for consumption	-1 409	-1 383	-1 399	16	1
			Household electrical items	-501	-533	-491	-42	-8
			Non-industrial transport equipment	-1 700	-1 877	-1 962	85	5
			Textiles, clothing and footwear	-1 590	-1 661	-1 599	-62	-4
			Toys, books and leisure goods	-543	-553	-542	-11	-2
			Consumption goods n.e.s.	-2 870	-2 928	-2 924	-4	-
		Capital goods		-6 273	-6 592	-5 952	-640	-10
			Machinery and industrial equipment	-2 078	-2 062	-2 027	-35	-2
			ADP equipment	-969	-1 006	-975	-31	-3
			Telecommunications equipment	-1 172	-1 124	-1 089	-35	-3
			Civil aircraft and confidentialised items(b)(c)	-396	-416	-275	-141	-34
			Industrial transport equipment n.e.s.	-730	-881	-808	-73	-8
			Capital goods n.e.s.(d)	-929	-1 104	-778	-326	-30
		Intermediate and other merchandise goods		-11 196	-11 242	-10 776	-466	-4
			Food and beverages, mainly for industry	-185	-182	-187	5	3
			Primary industrial supplies n.e.s.(d)	-140	-149	-165	16	11
			Fuels and lubricants(c)	-3 463	-3 627	-3 262	-365	-10
			Parts for transport equipment	-1 148	-1 249	-1 091	-158	-13
			Parts for ADP equipment	-58	-53	-51	-2	-4
			Other parts for capital goods	-1 650	-1 569	-1 577	8	1
			Organic and inorganic chemicals	-273	-292	-269	-23	-8
			Paper and paperboard	-209	-193	-205	12	6
			Textile yarn and fabrics	-127	-127	-131	4	3
			Iron and steel	-283	-251	-298	47	19
			Plastics	-367	-367	-364	-3	-1
			Processed industrial supplies n.e.s.	-3 068	-3 051	-3 043	-8	-
			Other merchandise goods(b)(e)	-114	-24	-24	-	-
			Goods procured in ports by carriers(c)	-110	-109	-109	-	-
	Non-monetary gold(c)			-480	-378	-603	225	60

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
a. For sign conventions, see paragraph 15 of the Methodology.
b. From July 2008, commodities subject to a 'no commodity details' or 'no value details' restriction are included in Civil aircraft and confidentialised items. For earlier periods, commodities subject to a 'no commodity details' or 'no value details' restriction are included in Other merchandise goods.
c. This component is not seasonally adjusted.
d. In using these seasonally adjusted series, care should be exercised because of the difficulties associated with reliably estimating the seasonal pattern.
e. From July 1981, this component is not seasonally adjusted.

Consumption goods

In trend terms, imports of consumption goods fell $16m to $8,901m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, imports of consumption goods fell $19m to $8,917m.

The main components contributing to the fall in seasonally adjusted estimates were:

textiles, clothing and footwear, down $62m (4%)
household electrical items, down $42m (8%).

Partly offsetting these falls was non-industrial transport equipment, up $85m (5%).

Capital goods

In trend terms, imports of capital goods fell $30m to $6,311m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, imports of capital goods fell $640m (10%) to $5,952m.

The main components contributing to the fall in seasonally adjusted estimates were:

capital goods n.e.s., down $326m (30%)
civil aircraft and confidentialised items, down $141m (34%)
industrial transport equipment n.e.s., down $73m (8%).

Intermediate and other merchandise goods

In trend terms, imports of intermediate and other merchandise goods fell $17m to $11,067m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, imports of intermediate and other merchandise goods fell $466m (4%) to $10,776m.

The main components contributing to the fall in seasonally adjusted estimates were:

fuels and lubricants, down $365m (10%)
parts for transport equipment, down $158m (13%).

Partly offsetting these falls was iron and steel, up $47m (19%).

Non-monetary gold

In trend terms, imports of non-monetary gold fell $53m (11%) to $433m.

In original and seasonally adjusted terms, imports of non-monetary gold rose $225m (60%) to $603m.

Imports of services

Services debits
	Trend estimates ($m)	Seasonally adjusted ($m)
Jan 2016	7,146	7,056
Feb 2016	7,093	6,936
Mar 2016	7,052	7,096
Apr 2016	7,029	7,068
May 2016	7,013	7,051
Jun 2016	6,992	7,085
Jul 2016	6,951	6,904
Aug 2016	6,899	6,866
Sep 2016	6,869	6,897
Oct 2016	6,866	6,913
Nov 2016	6,892	6,984
Dec 2016	6,951	6,898
Jan 2017	7,035	7,212
Feb 2017	7,127	7,155
Mar 2017	7,218	6,957
Apr 2017	7,298	7,507
May 2017	7,362	7,447
Jun 2017	7,409	7,301
Jul 2017	7,447	7,412
Aug 2017	7,484	7,558
Sep 2017	7,521	7,511
Oct 2017	7,580	7,544
Nov 2017	7,667	7,615
Dec 2017	7,760	7,827
Jan 2018	7,847	7,759
Feb 2018	7,921	7,971
Mar 2018	7,977	8,149
Apr 2018	8,018	7,947
May 2018	8,059	7,943
Jun 2018	8,111	8,097
Jul 2018	8,181	8,218
Aug 2018	8,264	8,294
Sep 2018	8,350	8,320
Oct 2018	8,416	8,431
Nov 2018	8,453	8,453
Dec 2018	8,476	8,566
Jan 2019	8,495	8,422
Feb 2019	8,513	8,514
Mar 2019	8,534	8,474
Apr 2019	8,567	8,591
May 2019	8,612	8,683
Jun 2019	8,657	8,596
Jul 2019	8,690	8,627
Aug 2019	8,705	8,795
Sep 2019	8,707	8,786
Oct 2019	8,701	8,657
Nov 2019	8,693	8,583
Dec 2019	8,686	8,764
Jan 2020	8,676	8,663

Services debits

["","Trend estimates","Seasonally adjusted"]

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[]

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Services debits(a), seasonally adjusted

			Nov 2019	Dec 2019	Jan 2020	Change in:
			Nov 2019	Dec 2019	Jan 2020	Jan 2020	Jan 2020
			$m	$m	$m	$m	%
Total services debits			-8 583	-8 764	-8 663	-101	-1
	Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others(b)		-	-	-	-	-
	Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.(b)		-83	-94	-81	-13	-14
	Transport		-1 538	-1 555	-1 513	-42	-3
		Passenger(c)	-624	-633	-608	-25	-4
		Freight	-824	-835	-819	-16	-2
		Other(b)	-81	-81	-78	-3	-4
		Postal and courier services(d)(e)	-9	-7	-8	1	14
	Travel		-4 296	-4 445	-4 380	-65	-1
	Other services		-2 667	-2 670	-2 690	20	1
Memorandum item
	Tourism related services debits(f)		-4 920	-5 078	-4 987	-91	-2

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
a. For sign conventions, see paragraph 15 of the Methodology.
b. This component is not seasonally adjusted.
c. Passenger services includes agency fees and commissions for air transport.
d. Postal and courier services includes indirect commissions for sea transport.
e. In using these seasonally adjusted series, care should be exercised because of the difficulties associated with reliably estimating the seasonal pattern.
f. For a more detailed explanation of tourism related services, see paragraph 29 of the Methodology.

In trend terms, services debits fell $10m to $8,676m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, services debits fell $101m (1%) to $8,663m.

The main component contributing to the fall in seasonally adjusted estimates was travel, down $65m (1%).

In seasonally adjusted terms, tourism related services debits fell $91m (2%) to $4,987m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, total services debits contributed 25% of total goods and services imported.

Selected commodities

Selected commodities, quantity and unit value analysis - international merchandise trade basis(a) - original terms

		Change in:
		Aug 2019	Sep 2019	Oct 2019	Nov 2019	Dec 2019	Jan 2020
		%	%	%	%	%	%
Iron ore
Lump	Quantity	14	-13	-1	16	-1	-12
Lump	Unit value	-17	-6	2	-3	4	-2
Fines	Quantity	5	-3	-2	1	13	-19
Fines	Unit value	-7	-7	-6	-2	1	-2
Coal
Hard coking	Quantity	-	-2	-2	3	7	-9
Hard coking	Unit value	-2	p-13	-1	p-6	p8	p3
Semi-soft	Quantity	-6	-3	-13	20	6	-9
Semi-soft	Unit value	-	-	-9	-3	p-	p-
Thermal	Quantity	-17	-1	9	-16	32	-13
Thermal	Unit value	7	-6	-5	3	-3	p1
Gas
LNG	Quantity	2	-12	3	3	9	3
LNG	Unit value	7	4	-7	1	-3	3

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
p preliminary figure or series subject to revision
a. Data in this table are on a revised international merchandise trade basis and exclude value adjustments applied to balance of payments series.

International merchandise trade exports data presented in the above table are based on information reported by exporters to the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs). For commodities such as iron ore and coal, newly negotiated contract prices are not fully reflected in data first reported to Home Affairs. Final quantity and/or unit price information is updated progressively in international merchandise trade data as exporters revise the information provided to Home Affairs. When additional information for these commodities is available, the ABS may adjust the data to reflect actual transaction values.

Unit values in this publication are presented in Australian dollar terms. Movements in the unit values for some commodities incorporate movements in the United States dollar prices reported to Home Affairs and movements in the Australian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate.

On an international merchandise trade basis, in original terms (noting the footnote in the above table), between December 2019 to January 2020 the largest movements recorded for the following selected commodities were:

Iron ore lump, down $317m (13%), with quantities down 12% and unit values down 2%. Exports to:

China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) fell $340m (18%), with quantities down 18%.

Iron ore fines, down $1,314m (21%), with quantities down 19% and unit values down 2%. Exports to:

China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) fell $984m (19%), with quantities down 18% and unit values down 1%
Japan fell $232m (48%), with quantities down 41% and unit values down 11%
Korea fell $93m (24%), with quantities down 21% and unit values down 3%.

Hard coking coal, down $155m (6%), with quantities down 9% and unit values up 3%. Exports to:

India fell $153m (23%), with quantities down 28% and unit values up 7%
Japan fell $68m (20%), with quantities down 11% and unit values down 11%
Vietnam fell $66m (81%), with quantities down 79% and unit values down 10%
Taiwan fell $37m (29%), with quantities down 29% and unit values up 1%
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) rose $172m (23%), with quantities up 12% and unit values up 10%.

Semi-soft coal, down $72m (9%), with quantities down 9%. Exports to:

India fell $36m (24%), with quantities down 34% and unit values up 14%
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) fell $25m (24%), with quantities down 20% and unit values down 5%

Thermal coal, down $236m (12%), with quantities down 13% and unit values up 1%. Exports to:

the Republic of Korea fell $127m (36%), with quantities down 40% and unit values up 6%
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) fell $116m (28%), with quantities down 23% and unit values down 6%
Vietnam fell $53m (48%), with quantities down 43% and unit value down 9%.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG), up $266m (6%), with quantities up 3% and unit values up 3%.

Revisions

Since the previous issue of this publication, revisions have been made to align with the data published in the December quarter 2019 issue of Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (cat. no. 5302.0), released on 3 March 2020 and Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product (cat. no. 5206.0), released on 4 March 2020. On an international merchandise trade basis, goods exports and imports have been revised back to July 2019.

The following goods debits component has been revised since the release of the December 2019 issue of International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia (cat. no. 5368.0):

capital goods n.e.s. component of goods debits, revised back to October 2019.

In original terms the revisions have decreased the surplus on goods and services for the six months to December 2019 by $15m.

Value adjustments

International merchandise trade exports data presented in this publication are based on information reported by exporters to the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs). At the time of initial reporting to Home Affairs, the final prices at which transactions take place are not known for some commodities. Final quantity and/or unit price information is updated progressively in international merchandise trade data as exporters revise the information provided to Home Affairs.

For commodities such as iron ore and coal, newly negotiated contract prices are not fully reflected in data first reported to Home Affairs. When additional information on quantity and/or unit price for these commodities is available, the ABS may adjust the data to reflect actual transaction values.

Iron ore adjustments are applied on an international merchandise trade basis at the Australian Harmonized Export Commodity Classification (AHECC) level. Coal, coke and briquettes are adjusted on a balance of payments basis in current price, original terms. When actual final transaction prices become available estimates are replaced with these data.

In most instances, transfer of ownership occurs when goods cross the customs frontier. In certain circumstances the ownership of large value capital expenditure items can occur prior to the items crossing the customs frontier. The ABS may adjust the relevant balance of payments series to record the timing when transfer of ownership was affected.

Goods credits on an international merchandise trade basis

Iron ore (in original terms)

on a merchandise trade basis, adjustments have been applied to iron ore lump in August (+$5m), September (+$50m), October (+$65m), November (+$90m), December (+$130m) 2019 and January (+$25m) 2020 respectively. Adjustments have been applied to iron ore fines in August (-$35m), September (+$60m), October (+$30m), November (+$100m) and December (+$210m) 2019 and January (-$165m) 2020 respectively. When actual final transaction prices become available estimates are replaced with these data. For price and volume details, see the Selected commodities section.

Goods credits on a balance of payments basis

Coal (in original terms)

a negative adjustment of $340m has been applied to hard coking coal, semi-soft coal and thermal coal in the coal, coke and briquettes component in the balance of payments series for January 2020. This adjustment takes into account additional information on the unit value of hard coking, semi-soft and thermal coal exports. To maintain consistency with the December quarter 2019 issue of Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (cat. no. 5302.0) released on 3 March 2020, previous adjustments have remained for October (+$100m), November (-$320m) and December (-$315m) 2019 respectively.
- In the international merchandise trade series, the unit value of coal, coke and briquettes fell 1.0% between November 2019 and December 2019 and rose 2.6% between December 2019 and January 2020.
- In the balance of payments series, the unit value of coal, coke and briquettes fell -6.4% between November 2019 and December 2019 and rose 0.4% between December 2019 and January 2020.

Goods debits on a balance of payments basis

Capital expenditure (in original terms)

capital goods n.e.s. includes an estimate of expenditure on capital goods that have changed ownership but have not yet crossed the customs frontier.

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Table 37i. Merchandise imports, state of destination not available, by country and country groups, customs value

Data files

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Table 91. Monthly combined seasonal adjustment factors

Data files

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Data downloads - data cubes

Table 18. Balance of payments broad economic categories (detailed level), by country, latest 7 months, customs value, ($million)

Data files

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Table 19. Balance of payments broad economic categories (1 and 2 digit), by country, latest 7 months, customs value, ($million)

Data files

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Methodology

International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia methodology, January 2020

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APA

International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia

APA

Key statistics

Main features

January key points

Balance on goods and services

Credits (exports of goods and services)

Debits (imports of goods and services)

Key figures

Bushfires and COVID-19 in January month

Analysis and comments

​​​​​​​Balance on goods and services

Goods and services summary(a), seasonally adjusted and trend

Exports of goods and services

Exports of goods

Goods credits, seasonally adjusted

Rural goods

Non-rural goods

​​​​​​​Net exports of goods under merchanting

Non-monetary gold

Exports of services

Services credits, seasonally adjusted

​​​​​​​Imports of goods and services

​​​​​​​Imports of goods

Goods debits(a), seasonally adjusted

Consumption goods

​​​​​​​Capital goods

​​​​​​​Intermediate and other merchandise goods

​​​​​​​Non-monetary gold

Imports of services

Services debits(a), seasonally adjusted

Selected commodities

Selected commodities, quantity and unit value analysis - international merchandise trade basis(a) - original terms

Revisions

Value adjustments

​​​​​​​Goods credits on an international merchandise trade basis

​​​​​​​Goods credits on a balance of payments basis

​​​​​​​Goods debits on a balance of payments basis

Data downloads - time series spreadsheets

All time series spreadsheets

Table 1. Goods and services, summary: seasonally adjusted and trend estimates, current prices

Table 2. Goods and services, summary: original, current prices

Table 3. Goods credits, original, current prices

Table 4. Goods debits, original, current prices

Table 5. Goods credits, seasonally adjusted, current prices

Table 6. Goods debits, seasonally adjusted, current prices

Table 7. Goods credits, trend estimates, current prices

Table 8. Goods debits, trend estimates, current prices

Table 9. Services, summary: original, current prices

Table 10. Services, summary: seasonally adjusted and trend estimates, current prices

Table 11a. Services credits, original, current prices - quarterly

Table 11b. Services debits, original, current prices - quarterly

Table 12a. Merchandise exports, standard international trade classification (1 and 2 digit), FOB value

Table 12b. Merchandise exports, standard international trade classification (3 digit), FOB value

Table 13a. Merchandise imports, standard international trade classification (1 and 2 digit), customs value

Table 13b. Merchandise imports, standard international trade classification (3 digit), customs value

Table 14a. Merchandise exports, country and country groups, FOB value

Table 14b. Merchandise imports, country and country groups, customs value

Table 15a. Merchandise exports, state and Australia, FOB value

Table 15b. Merchandise imports, state and Australia, customs value

Table 16. Period average exchange rates, units of foreign currency per Australian dollar

Table 17. Summary of revisions, goods and services

Table 31. Merchandise exports, broad economic category, FOB value

Table 32a. Merchandise exports, industry (ANZSIC 2006), FOB value

Table 32b. Merchandise exports, industry (ANZSIC 1993), FOB value

Table 33. Merchandise imports, broad economic category, customs value

Table 34. Merchandise imports, balance of payments broad economic category, customs value

Table 35a. Merchandise imports, industry (ANZSIC 2006), customs value

Table 35b. Merchandise imports, industry (ANZSIC 1993), customs value

Table 36a. Merchandise exports, state of origin New South Wales, by country and country groups, FOB value

Table 36b. Merchandise exports, state of origin Victoria, by country and country groups, FOB value

Table 36c. Merchandise exports, state of origin Queensland, by country and country groups, FOB value

Table 36d. Merchandise exports, state of origin South Australia, by country and country groups, FOB value

Table 36e. Merchandise exports, state of origin Western Australia, by country and country groups, FOB value

Table 36f. Merchandise exports, state of origin Tasmania, by country and country groups, FOB value

Table 36g. Merchandise exports, state of origin Northern Territory, by country and country groups, FOB value

Table 36h. Merchandise exports, state of origin Australian Capital Territory, by country and country groups, FOB value

Table 36i. Merchandise exports, state of origin not available, by country and country groups, FOB value

Table 36j. Merchandise exports, re-exports, by country and country groups, FOB value

Balance on goods and services

Net exports of goods under merchanting

Imports of goods and services

Imports of goods

Capital goods

Intermediate and other merchandise goods

Non-monetary gold

Goods credits on an international merchandise trade basis

Goods credits on a balance of payments basis

Goods debits on a balance of payments basis