|
Movement of freight within Australia is a significant part of the transport task, with goods being transported intrastate and interstate.
Road freight activity
As can be seen from table 23.6, articulated trucks are responsible for the largest percentage of the freight transport task performed by road (77.2% of total tonne-kilometres of all freight carrying vehicles in the year ended 31 October 2000). Trucks registered in Victoria accounted for the highest tonne-kilometres travelled by articulated trucks (22.2% of total freight vehicles), while vehicles registered in New South Wales recorded the highest tonne-kilometres for rigid trucks (5.9% of total) and light commercial vehicles (1.3% of total).
23.6 FREIGHT VEHICLES, Tonne-Kilometres(a), by State of Registration - Year ended 31 October 2000 |
|
State/Territory of registration | Light commercial
vehicles
mill. t-km |
Rigid trucks
mill. t-km
|
Articulated trucks
mill. t-km
|
Total
mill. t-km
|
|
New South Wales | 1,693 | 7,580 | 21,817 | 31,090 |
Victoria | 1,085 | 5,703 | 28,530 | 35,319 |
Queensland | 1,425 | 5,580 | 19,587 | 26,591 |
South Australia | 342 | 1,592 | 12,561 | 14,495 |
Western Australia | 667 | 2,594 | 11,766 | 15,027 |
Tasmania | 132 | 417 | 1,852 | 2,401 |
Northern Territory | 56 | *181 | 2,585 | 2,821 |
Australian Capital Territory | 79 | 154 | 725 | 957 |
Australia | 5,478 | 23,801 | 99,422 | 128,702 |
|
(a) Total tonne-kilometres are the total tonnes carried multiplied by the distance travelled in kilometres.
|
Source: Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, Australia (9208.0). |
Rail freight activity
Table 23.7 shows a steady increase in freight carried by private and government operators over most of the last 10 years (with a substantial jump in 1997). Over this period, freight tonnage increased by 46.8%. Net tonne-kilometres increased by 52.0%, indicating an increase in the average distances over which freight was carried.
23.7 RAIL FREIGHT OPERATIONS |
|
| Tonnes
million | Tonne-kilometres(a)
billion |
|
1990-91 | 346.0 | 88.3 |
1991-92 | 346.2 | 89.3 |
1992-93 | 361.2 | 92.1 |
1993-94 | 379.3 | 97.8 |
1994-95 | 381.9 | 99.7 |
1995-96 | 399.4 | 104.3 |
1996-97 | 470.1 | 114.4 |
1997-98 | 487.5 | 125.2 |
1998-99 | 492.0 | 127.4 |
1999-2000 | 508.0 | 134.2 |
|
(a) Tonne-kilometres are the number of kilometres travelled multiplied by the number of tonnes moved.
Source: Australasian Railway Association Inc. |
Sea freight activity
Table 23.8 shows the weight of shipping cargo loaded at Australian ports for discharge at another Australian port. In 1999-2000, interstate freight loaded remained at about the same level as in 1998-99, but intrastate freight increased by 11.5%. In 1999-2000, interstate trade accounted for nearly two-thirds of coastal freight (63.6%).
23.8 AUSTRALIAN COASTAL FREIGHT LOADED - 1995-96 to 1999-2000
|
| Million tonnes |
|
|
Year | Interstate | Intrastate | Total |
|
1995-96 | 32.0 | 15.8 | 47.8 |
1996-97 | 32.6 | 16.6 | 49.1 |
1997-98 | 34.3 | 18.2 | 52.5 |
1998-99 | 31.9 | 16.5 | 48.4 |
1999-2000 | 32.0 | 18.4 | 50.3 |
|
Source: Australian port authorities. |
Tonnes of coastal cargo loaded in 1999-2000 increased by 3.9% to 50.3 million tonnes (table 23.9). Of this, 63.8% comprised bulk commodities. The commodities contributing most to the growth in tonnes carried were petroleum products (excluding crude oil) and bauxite/alumina (up 26.1% and 22.2% respectively). These increases were partly offset by falls in the amounts of iron ore and crude oil loaded.
A marginal fall in total tonnes-kilometres was recorded in 1999-2000. The main contributors to this fall were iron ore and crude oil, while all other commodities increased.
23.9 COASTAL CARGO LOADED, By Major Commodity - 1995-96 to 1999-2000
|
| Major bulk cargo commodities | | |
|
| | |
Year | Iron ore | Bauxite/alumina | Crude oil | Petroleum products
(excluding crude oil) | Other cargo | Total |
|
TONNES (million) |
|
1995-96 | 9.0 | 9.6 | 7.6 | 6.5 | 15.1 | 47.8 |
1996-97 | 8.3 | 10.1 | 8.3 | 6.9 | 15.6 | 49.1 |
1997-98 | 8.2 | 10.3 | 8.9 | 7.2 | 18.0 | 52.5 |
1998-99 | 8.6 | 9.9 | 6.0 | 6.9 | 17.0 | 48.4 |
1999-2000 | 6.8 | 12.1 | 4.5 | 8.7 | 18.2 | 50.3 |
|
TONNE-KILOMETRES (billion) |
|
1995-96 | 40.4 | 21.1 | 16.3 | 9.7 | 18.6 | 106.1 |
1996-97 | 38.1 | 22.2 | 18.8 | 12.9 | 20.7 | 112.7 |
1997-98 | 40.9 | 22.4 | 13.5 | 10.3 | 19.6 | 106.7 |
1998-99 | 40.3 | 21.8 | 15.2 | 10.7 | 20.9 | 108.9 |
1999-2000 | 29.7 | 27.9 | 14.9 | 11.8 | 24.0 | 108.3 |
|
Source: Australian port authorities. |
Air freight activity
In 2000 there were declines in air cargo on board for domestic operators (by 1.8%) and regional operators (by 30.4%). For the domestic airlines, cargo tonne-kilometres increased slightly (by 0.3%), indicating an increase in the average distance over which cargo was moved.
23.10 DOMESTIC AIR FREIGHT ACTIVITY - 1996 to 2000 |
|
| Units | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
|
Domestic airlines - | | | | | | |
- Cargo on board(a) | '000 tonnes | 172.8 | 190.7 | 192.8 | 192.3 | 188.9 |
- Cargo tonne-kilometres(a) | million | 207.8 | 233.7 | 238.4 | 245.4 | 246.0 |
- Total tonne-kilometres(b) | million | 2,565.0 | 2,605.8 | 2,648.1 | 2,752.1 | 2,910.1 |
- Revenue weight load factor(c) | % | 57.8 | 58.2 | 58.7 | 59.5 | 59.7 |
Regional airlines - | | | | | | |
- Cargo on board(a) | '000 tonnes | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 1.6 |
|
Note: Freight data for domestic and regional airlines are not complete. The data cover only revenue traffic carried by operators of domestic and regional regular public transport services, and do not include charter or non-scheduled activities.
(a) Includes freight and mail.
(b) Includes the weight of passengers and baggage.
(c) Total tonne-kilometres travelled as a percentage of total tonne-kilometres available on all flights. It therefore reflects the utilisation of aeroplanes for both cargo and passenger use. |
Source: Department of Transport and Regional Services. |
|