This is the latest in a series of Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) reports that provide information on Australian sea freight movements, vessel activity, the use of coastal trading licences, and the size and composition of the Australian trading fleet. This report contains statistics on maritime freight and shipping activities in Australia from 2005–06 to 2014–15.

Waterline reports on trends in (a) throughput, (b) container handling productivity and (c) the cost of importing and exporting containers through Australia's five major container ports. It covers container exchange with specialised container ships and transport of containers on the landside of the ports.

This issue covers port terminal activity up to the December quarter 2015.

• Waterline No 58
  
  water_058.pdf
  (4.3 MB)
• Container Terminal Throughput
  
  water_058_Table1_Throughput.xlsx
  (35.88 KB)
• Container Terminal Productivity
  
  water_058_Table2_Productivity.xlsx
  (33.39 KB)
• VBS/TAS Operations
  
  water_058_Table3_VBSOperations.xlsx
  (30.61 KB)
• Port Interface Cost Index
  
  water_058_Table4_PICI.xlsx
  (44.65 KB)
• Time Series Tables
  
  
  water_058_TimeSeries.zip
  (36.63 KB)

The Ministerial Directions governing the Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme require us to produce a monitoring report every 2 years. Over the monitoring period (2013–14 to 2014–15):

• The Australian Government spent $40.9 million in 2014–15 on the Scheme, up 9.1% from 2013–14, and $37.5 million in 2013–14 (up 14.3% on 2012–13).
• The number of sea passengers with a motor vehicle may have been 23.6% higher than without the Scheme.
• Just under 18 000 new visitors to Tasmania travelled by sea due to the Scheme in 2014–15 (up from 14 500 new visitors in 2013–14).
• New visitors to Tasmania spent an estimated $50.2 million in Tasmania in 2014–15 (up from an estimated $39.0 million in 2013–14).

Waterline reports on trends in (a) throughput, (b) container handling productivity and (c) the cost of importing and exporting containers through Australia's five major container ports. It covers container exchange with specialised container ships and transport of containers on the land-side of the ports.

This issue covers port terminal activity up to the June quarter 2015. It introduces three new indicators–two examine truck movements outside formal booking systems, for containers and TEUs; the third quantifies backloaded operations, whereby trucks carry containers on both inbound and outbound legs of their trip.

• Waterline No 57
  
  water_057.pdf
  (20.52 MB)

This is the latest in a series of Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) reports that provide information on Australian sea freight movements, vessel activity, the use of coastal trading licences, and the size and composition of the Australian trading fleet. This report contains statistics on maritime freight and shipping activities in Australia from 2004–05 to 2013–14.

Waterline provides the latest data on (a) throughput, (b) container handling productivity (both wharf-side and land-side), and (c) the cost of importing and exporting containers. It covers both the unloading of container ships and the transport of containers from terminals. Highlights from this edition include:

• Throughput at Australian ports increased 3 per cent over the period July-December 2014, relative to the previous year, with a total throughput of 3.7 million TEUs. This compares to non-farm GDP growth over the same period of 2.7 per cent: port throughput continues to increase faster than non-farm GDP. Fremantle experienced the strongest increase of 11.3 per cent; the other ports showed more modest growth, except Adelaide, which recorded a 2.6 per cent decline.
• Wharf-side productivity showed a modest improvement in average labour productivity (up 0.9 per cent); however reduced crane rates (down 3.3 per cent) showed lower capital productivity, and translated to longer median ship turnaround rates at Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Fremantle exhibited the strongest performance (with elapsed labour rate, crane rate and ship rate improvements of 39.4, 32.8 and 10.9 per cent respectively), with the sharpest declines in Brisbane (elapsed labour rate and ship rate down by 12.3 and 14.5 per cent respectively).
• Land-side efficiency continued its decline in all ports except Adelaide: average truck and container turnaround times increased by 5.7 and 4.7 per cent, respectively.
• The Port Interface Cost Index (PICI) increased by $10-$14/TEU over the reporting period, with the larger increases for smaller vessel sizes. Port Interface Cost for medium- and large-size vessels is now approaching parity. While historically, port handling costs have been declining as the general price level across the economy (the GDP deflator) has been increasing, this trend has reversed since 2010, and port interface costs are now rising.

• Waterline No 56
  
  water_056.pdf
  (4.73 MB)

Waterline reports on trends in (a) throughput, (b) container handling productivity on the waterfront and the land side of ports in Australia, and (c) the cost of importing and exporting containers via five container ports. It covers both the loading and unloading of container ships and the transport of containers from container terminals. In Waterline 55, rail throughput data provided by port authorities is incorporated in calculating the throughput and productivity indicators. This issue covers port terminal activity up to the June quarter 2014.

• Waterline No 55
  
  water_055.pdf
  (2.47 MB)
• Port Performance–non-financial
  
  
  water_055_PortPerformance_non_financial.xls
  (81.5 KB)
• Wharfside Productivity
  
  
  water_055_WharfsideProductivity.xls
  (232 KB)

This report presents 20-year forecasts of exports and imports of containerised and non-containerised freight and sea passenger movements through Australia's five largest capital city ports and, in aggregation, all other ports. The forecasts, which update those previously published by BITRE in 2002, 2006 and 2010, are driven by population, real income, exchange rates, import prices and export prices. The most recent economic outlook and population growth forecasts for Australia and its major trading partners have been used to derive the forecasts. The forecasts imply that Australia's sea trade will double over the next 20 years, largely due to the continuing positive economic outlook for Australia and its major trading partners. The long-term outlook for the cruise shipping industry is also positive, largely due to the projected economic growth in source countries of cruise passengers, particularly the USA.

• Containerised and non-containerised trade through Australian ports to 2032–33
  
  report_138.pdf
  (1.97 MB)

This paper presents recent evidence on jobs at Australian ports, based on ABS Census of Population and Housing data. It examines 17 major ports that are of national economic significance, based on the level of activity as measured by ship visits, throughput and the value of trade. It presents the number of jobs located at port precinct, the industry structure, median age, educational qualifications and skill mix of that employment.

• Ports: job generation in the context of regional development
  
  is_056.pdf
  (1.61 MB)

This is the latest in a series of BITRE reports that presents statistics on maritime freight in Australia and shows the trend of Australian sea freight over the most recent ten years. The information presented comprises international and coastal freight statistics, the use of coastal voyage permits, vessel activity at Australian ports, and the size and composition of the Australian trading fleet from 2003-04 to 2012-13.