9220.0 - Freight Movements, Australia, Summary, Mar 2001 (Reissue)

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 06/09/2002 Reissue

Page tools: Print

Print Page Print all pages in this product

Main Features
About this Release

NOTES

REISSUE

This publication was first released on Friday 15 March 2002. Some published rail data have been subsequently found to be incorrect due to error in the aggregation of rail data from a number of respondents.

Correction of these errors has resulted in revisions to both tonnes and tonne-kilometres figures for the rail and all modes components. All tables in the publication (with the exception of tables 16 and 17) were affected by these revisions and a reissue was therefore considered necessary.

ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION

This publication presents results from the 2000 Freight Movements Survey (FMS 2000) and provides estimates of freight moved by road, rail, sea and air for the period 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) wishes to acknowledge the Commonwealth and each of the state/territory transport departments for their funding contributions which assisted in the conduct of this survey.

The statistics for the road component of the collection were based on a sample survey of articulated vehicles that were registered with a motor vehicle registry. Rigid trucks and other commercial vehicles were excluded from the scope of the survey. Articulated vehicles account for approximately 77% of total tonne-kilometres travelled and approximately 46% of total tonnes moved by road within Australia (see Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, Australia, 12 months ended 31 October 2000 (cat. no. 9208.0)).

Data for the other modes were compiled from information provided by all rail, sea and air freight operators. However, data for rail freight movements in Tasmania are confidential for the 12 months ended March 2001 and not available for release. In 1994-95, the ABS published data showing that 2.5 million tonnes of freight were moved by rail in Tasmania (see Experimental Estimates of Freight Movements, Australia (cat. no. 9217.0)).

The statistics relating to freight moved by road in this publication are the first results produced using a new survey methodology. The methodology was developed to improve upon previous efforts by the ABS to collect and compile accurate statistics on the movement of freight by road in Australia. The change to the methodology means that direct comparisons should not be made between data from the FMS 2000 and previous surveys.

Estimates on freight moved by road have been adjusted to compensate for under-reporting by respondents. These adjustments are based on a careful analysis of the data and are designed to improve the estimates at the Australian level (see Technical Note 2).

Dennis Trewin
Australian Statistician

INTRODUCTION

Freight is moved in Australia across vast distances, because of the size of the country and the disperse locations of its agricultural, mining, production and population centres.

The Freight Movements Survey was designed to provide statistics about the size and characteristics of the transport task, including freight flows between geographic areas. This statistical information will assist in the development of transport policies and the efficient allocation of related resources.

FREIGHT MOVEMENTS

Tonne-kilometres is one key measure that can be used to capture the freight transport task, representing mass moved over distance. The calculation of tonne-kilometres is detailed in the Glossary.

In the 12 months ended 31 March 2001, the transport network in Australia, comprising the modes of road (articulated vehicles only), rail, sea and air accounted for an estimated 320,108 million tonne-kilometres and handled 1,171 million tonnes of freight.

Mode of transport

The road, rail and sea networks shared similar proportions of total tonne-kilometres travelled, with rail accounting for the highest proportion at 42% (134,108 million), followed by sea (30%) and road (28%) (graph S1). By contrast, air accounted for less than 1% of the freight task.

When combined, freight moved by road and rail accounted for 96% of the total tonnage moved (614 and 509 million tonnes respectively). Due to the long average hauls for domestic shipping, sea freight accounted for a much higher proportion of total tonne-kilometres travelled than for total tonnage moved.

Graph - S1 Freigh movements, Tonne-kilometres travelled and tonnes carried, percentage of total

Method of transport

Methods by which freight was carried were classified as solid bulk, liquid bulk, containerised and other. Refer to the Glossary for more detail.

Almost two thirds (63%) of the total tonne-kilometres travelled in Australia (201,591 million) was classified as solid bulk freight, with a further 9% (27,931 million) classified as liquid bulk freight. Of the remainder, 8% was classified as containerised and 20% as other (graph S2). Similarly, of the total tonnes moved in Australia, the most common form of freight was solid bulk (68% of total tonnes).

Solid bulk constituted 82% of the total tonne-kilometres (109,309 million) travelled by rail freight and 76% of the total tonne-kilometres travelled by sea freight.

In contrast, 62% of all tonne-kilometres travelled on road, and all freight on the air network was reported as being moved in ways other than in bulk or in containerised form.

Graph - S2 Freight movements, Tonne-kilometres travelled by method, percenctage of mode

STATE/TERRITORY OF ORIGIN

Of the total tonne-kilometres travelled in Australia, 33% (105,446 million) originated in Western Australia (WA) (graph S3). Factors contributing to this high percentage were movements of heavy commodities, such as iron ore from WA mine sites, and long trip distances.

Freight originating in Queensland (Qld) accounted for 29% of the total tonne-kilometres travelled (93,416 million). This was due mainly to large shipments of commodities, such as coal and livestock, over long distances from the central and western areas of the state.

More than three quarters (79%) of the total tonnes moved originated from Qld, WA and New South Wales (NSW) combined. Whilst there was a reasonably even distribution of tonnes moved from these three states, tonne-kilometres travelled varied, with freight originating from NSW representing only 17% (52,943 million) of the total tonne-kilometres travelled. The large number of short trips made in NSW accounted for the lower tonne-kilometres travelled in that state.

Graph - S3 State/territory of origin, Tonne-kilometres travelled and tonnes carried, percentage of total

Mode of transport

Freight originating in NSW accounted for 30% of the total tonne-kilometres travelled by road (26,440 million) (graph S4). Rail and sea freight originating in WA represented 45% and 35%, respectively, of the total tonne-kilometres travelled by those modes.

For air, freight originating in NSW and Victoria (Vic.) combined, accounted for over half of all tonne-kilometres travelled on the air network.

Graph - S4 State/territory of origin, Tonne-kilometres travelled by mode, percentage of mode

Intrastate movements

Of the total tonne-kilometres travelled, 59% (187,978 million) were for movements where the origin and the destination of the freight was within the same state/territory (i.e. intrastate). For all states and territories except NSW, Qld and WA, less than one third of the tonne-kilometres travelled were for intrastate movements (graph S5).

In contrast to total tonne-kilometres travelled, 92% of total tonnes carried were intrastate. In all states and territories, except the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), at least 79% of movements were within the same state or territory. Due principally to its location within NSW and its size, only 50% of ACT movements were intrastate.

Graph - S5 State/territory of origin, Intrastate freight movements, Percentage of total state/territory movements

A high proportion (86%) of tonne-kilometres travelled on the rail network were for the movement of freight intrastate. Nearly all (98%) of the total tonnage of rail freight moved was for intrastate movements (graph S6). The movement of bulk commodities (e.g. coal) from the location of the resources to seaports or processing centres was a factor contributing to the high percentages of intrastate rail freight movements.

Similar to rail, a high percentage (92%) of the total tonnes moved by road was within the same state/territory. However, in contrast to rail, only 52% of the total tonne-kilometres travelled by road was for freight that was moved intrastate.

A minority of freight movements by sea were intrastate in nature (28% of the total tonne-kilometres travelled and 36% of the total tonnes carried).

Only 6% of the total tonne-kilometres travelled and 10% of the total tonnes carried on the air network were for the movement of freight intrastate.

Graph - S6 State/territory of origin, Intrastate freight movements, Percentage of mode

Interstate movements

Of the total tonne-kilometres travelled, 132,129 million (41%) were for interstate freight movements. For each state and territory (except NSW, Qld and WA), more than two thirds of the total tonne-kilometres travelled were for freight moving interstate (graph S7).

For each state and territory of origin (except the ACT), less than one quarter of total tonnes carried were for interstate freight movements.

Graph - S7 State/territory of origin, Interstate freight movements, Percentage of total state/territory movements

Due to the nature of sea and air transport, the percentages of interstate tonne-kilometres travelled by air (94%) and sea (72%) were much higher than those travelled by rail and road (graph S8).

Graph - S8 State/territory of origin, Interstate freight movements, Percentage of mode

STATE/TERRITORY OF DESTINATION

Of the total tonne-kilometres travelled, more than three quarters (80%) were for freight destined for Qld, NSW or WA. Likewise, the same three states were the destination for 79% of the total tonnes moved.

The high percentages of the total tonne-kilometres travelled by road in the eastern states reflected the heavy use of the road network on Australia's eastern seaboard. Freight destined for NSW accounted for 29% of the total tonne-kilometres by road, Qld 22% and Vic. 21% (graph S9).

Nearly half (47%) of all tonne-kilometres travelled on the rail freight network was for freight destined for WA. Also, rail freight destined for WA accounted for more than three quarters (79%) of the total tonne-kilometres travelled by all modes, for that state.

Percentages of the total tonne-kilometres travelled over the sea network were high for freight transported to ports located within NSW (38%, or 36,912 million tonne-kilometres) and Qld (33%). Sea freight destined for Tasmania (Tas.) accounted for over three quarters (78%) of all tonne-kilometres for freight moved to that state.

As a destination for freight, WA accounted for 25% of the total tonne-kilometres travelled by air. Due to the long trip distances involved, however, WA accounted for only 11% of the total tonnes carried by air. The highest percentages of total tonnes carried by air were for freight destined for NSW and Qld (24% each), and Vic. (22%).

Graph - S9 State/territory of destination, tonne-kilometres travelled by mode, Percentage of mode

CAPITAL CITY/REST OF STATE MOVEMENTS

All states and territories, except Vic. and the ACT, recorded higher tonne-kilometres travelled for freight originating in non-capital city areas than for freight originating in capital city areas. This was most evident in WA (87% of total tonne-kilometres) and Qld (83%), where large tonnages of bulk commodities originated in the non-capital city areas (graph S10).

Graph - S10 Capital city/rest of state, tonne-kilometres travelled, percentage of state/territory total

Total tonne-kilometres travelled by road were evenly shared between freight originating in capital city areas and freight originating in non-capital city areas (graph S11). For rail, however, the greater majority of tonne-kilometres travelled (86%) were for freight originating from Australia's non-capital city areas.

Because of the location of Australia's major airports, freight originating in the capital city areas accounted for nearly all tonne-kilometres travelled by air.

Graph - S11 Capital city/rest of state, tonne-kilometres travelled, (state/territory of origin), percentage of mode

For freight originating in the non-capital city areas of WA and Qld, over 85% of the tonne-kilometres travelled were by rail and sea. Of the tonne-kilometres travelled for freight originating in the non-capital city areas of NSW, 46% were by rail and 39% by road.

COMMODITIES MOVED

Metalliferous ores and metal scrap (118,959 million tonne-kilometres and 256 million tonnes) and coal (48,562 million tonne-kilometres and 273 million tonnes) were the two major commodities moved in Australia.

Mode of transport

Road freight accounted for the highest percentage of tonne-kilometres travelled for most commodities. The major exceptions were coal, where 91% of the tonne-kilometres were by rail, and petroleum and petroleum products where 74% of the tonne-kilometres were by sea.

The two major commodities moved by air were general freight, at 165 million tonne-kilometres (60% of the total) and other commodities n.e.s., at 66 million tonne-kilometres (24% of the total) (table S12).

For tonnes carried, the majority of commodities were moved primarily by road, with the percentage of total tonnage for each commodity moved by road exceeding 90% in a number of cases. The exceptions were some of the individual commodities most commonly moved in bulk, such as coal and metalliferous ores and metal scrap. For these commodities, rail was the primary mode of transport.

S12 MAJOR COMMODITIES CARRIED

			% of mode

Mode of transportation		Tonne-kilometres	Tonnes

Road
	Food	22	14
	General freight	17	8
	Sand, stone and gravel	4	14
Rail
	Metalliferous ores and metal scrap	42	39
	Coal	33	44
Sea
	Metalliferous ores and metal scrap	63	43
	Petroleum and petroleum products	17	23
Air
	General freight	60	59
	Other commodities n.e.s.	24	26
All modes
	Metalliferous ores and metal scrap	37	22
	Coal	15	23

Method of Transport

Overall, most tonne-kilometres travelled and most tonnes carried, were for freight in solid bulk form. The commodity comprising the highest percentage of tonne-kilometres travelled in solid bulk form was metalliferous ores and metal scrap, at 59% of the total.

Commodities such as food, cork and wood, sand, stone and gravel and machinery and transport equipment were predominantly moved by road, principally by a method other than in bulk or containerised.

Dangerous and/or Refrigerated commodities

Freight was also classified, where relevant, as refrigerated and/or dangerous. Refer to the Glossary for more detail.

During the survey period, refrigerated commodities accounted for 3% of total tonnes moved and 4% of the total tonne-kilometres travelled. Food comprised 93% of the total refrigerated tonne-kilometres travelled.

Commodities classified as dangerous accounted for 4% of total tonnes moved and 8% of the total tonne-kilometres travelled. Petroleum and petroleum products comprised nearly three quarters of all dangerous goods carried.

1 TONNES CARRIED AND TONNE-KILOMETRES TRAVELLED, ALL MODES(a)(b)

									Destination

	NSW	Vic.	Qld	SA	WA	Tas.	NT	ACT	Aust.
Origin	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000

TONNES

NSW	273,289	13,618	7,574	3,630	962	312	*71	1,845	301,300
Vic.	12,565	113,455	3,100	4,726	1,341	2,760	15	94	138,055
Qld	8,657	2,219	302,831	476	248	271	309	*27	315,039
SA	4,376	7,489	1,268	56,024	1,069	309	605	*51	71,191
WA	4,800	1,502	287	893	300,403	40	337	-	308,261
Tas.	1,788	2,415	104	315	87	21,548	9	-	26,267
NT	93	**12	*92	302	*86	375	8,008	-	8,967
ACT	635	*44	**16	**14	-	-	-	*714	1,423
Aust.	306,204	140,753	315,272	66,380	304,197	25,613	9,353	2,730	1,170,503

TONNE-KILOMETRES

NSW	27,433,760	9,104,297	6,533,445	4,800,949	3,970,297	338,636	*278,669	482,500	52,942,553
Vic.	8,618,874	9,129,051	6,284,702	3,047,667	4,431,479	1,743,797	35,702	57,636	33,348,908
Qld	7,823,771	4,506,288	77,127,963	1,244,971	1,247,333	642,244	790,991	*32,679	93,416,240
SA	7,842,700	4,786,944	3,368,564	4,398,696	2,518,733	529,498	1,152,858	*60,549	24,658,542
WA	26,558,039	6,632,331	1,441,894	2,275,845	67,304,855	128,783	1,104,218	341	105,446,305
Tas.	1,880,473	1,148,914	258,917	550,121	302,278	1,602,489	52,176	66	5,795,435
NT	379,264	**26,865	*214,050	613,198	*190,745	1,886,601	967,952	31	4,278,705
ACT	145,057	*27,116	**19,996	**14,535	552	29	65	*13,617	220,967
Aust.	80,681,939	35,361,806	95,249,532	16,945,982	79,966,272	6,872,077	4,382,630	647,416	320,107,655

(a) Data are for freight carried by articulated vehicles only, freight movements made by rigid and light commerical vehicles are excluded from the survey. (b) Excludes rail freight movements in Tasmania.