MAY KEY FIGURES
 | March 2011 | April 2011 | May 2011 |
 | $m | $m | $m |
|
Food and live animals | 740 | 685 | 715 |
Beverages and tobacco | 142 | 144 | 140 |
Crude materials, inedible, except fuels | 250 | 187 | 280 |
Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials | 3 443 | 3 334 | 3 190 |
Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes | 39 | 47 | 60 |
Chemicals and related products, nes | 2 279 | 2 012 | 1 990 |
Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material | 1 828 | 1 772 | 1 993 |
Machinery and transport equipment | 6 934 | 5 977 | 6 583 |
Miscellaneous manufactured articles | 2 134 | 2 094 | 2 181 |
Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere in the SITC | 735 | 1 111 | 930 |
TOTAL | 18 523 | 17 363 | 18 061 |
|
MAY KEY POINTS
ORIGINAL ESTIMATES
- In original terms, the May 2011 merchandise imports were $18,061m, an increase of $698m (4%) on the revised April 2011 merchandise imports of $17,363m.
PRELIMINARY BALANCE OF PAYMENTS GOODS IMPORTS
- Preliminary analysis shows that goods debits (imports) on a balance of payments basis in original terms rose $551m (3%) between April and May 2011. In seasonally adjusted terms goods debits fell $7m from $18,771m in April 2011 to $18,764m in May 2011. Capital goods fell $347m (8%) with the civil aircraft and other confidentialised items component down $301m (42%). Non-monetary gold fell $23m (6%). Consumption goods rose $204m (4%) with the non-industrial transport equipment component up $219m (23%) following a fall of 31% the previous month. Intermediate and other merchandise goods rose $159m (2%).
IMPACT OF NATURAL DISASTERS
Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami
- The Japanese earthquake and tsunami occurred on 11 March 2011. On a month to month basis, original series can be impacted by a number of factors including commodity prices, exchange rates, supply constraints, consumer confidence and unusual influences. It is not usually possible to quantify the impact of a specific event, like the Japanese earthquake and tsunami on the import series. The impact of these events will be closely monitored by the ABS.
- Between April and May 2011 merchandise imports from Japan rose $314m (40%) following a fall of $711m (48%) between March and April 2011. The non-industrial transport equipment component fell $494m (81%) between March and April 2011, but rose $190m between April and May 2011. The fuels and lubricants component was up $150m between April and May 2011.
NOTES
FORTHCOMING ISSUES
ISSUE | Release Date |
June 2011 | 19 July 2011 |
July 2011 | 18 August 2011 |
August 2011 | 19 September 2011 |
September 2011 | 19 October 2011 |
October 2011 | 17 November 2011 |
November 2011 | 19 December 2011 |
INQUIRIES
For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Olivia Lam on Canberra (02) 6252 7406.
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