Australian Transport Economic Account: An Experimental Transport Satellite Account methodology

A supporting activity undertaken within an enterprise in order to create the conditions within which the principal or secondary activities can be carried out; this production being undertaken for the use of the producer. See also In-house transport and Secondary activity.

The amount receivable by the producer from the purchaser for a unit of a good or service produced as output, minus any tax payable plus any subsidy receivable, on that unit as a consequence of its production or sale. It excludes any transport charges invoiced separately by the producer. See also Purchasers' price.

The total remuneration, in cash or in kind, payable by an enterprise to an employee in return for work done by the employee during the accounting period. It is further classified into two sub-components: wages and salaries; and employers’ social contributions. Compensation of employees is not payable in respect of unpaid work undertaken voluntarily, including the work done by members of a household within an unincorporated enterprise owned by the same household. Compensation of employees excludes any taxes payable by the employer on the wage and salary bill (e.g. payroll tax). See also Employers' social contributions and Wages and salaries.

Annually-reweighted chain Laspeyres price indexes referenced to the same year as the chain volume measures. They can be thought of as a series of indexes measuring price change from a base year to the following year using current price values in the base year as weights, linked together to form a continuous time series. In other words, chain price indexes are constructed in a similar fashion to the chain volume indexes.

Annually-reweighted chain Laspeyres volume indexes referenced to the current price values in a chosen reference year (See also reference year). Chain Laspeyres volume measures are compiled by linking together (compounding) movements in volumes, calculated using the average prices of the previous financial year, and applying the compounded movements to the current price estimates of the reference year.

Estimates are valued at the prices of the period to which the observation relates. For example, estimates for this financial year are valued using this financial year's prices. This contrasts to chain volume measures where the prices used in valuation refer to the prices of the previous year.

Is a person aged 15 years and over who, during the reference week:

• worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind in a job or business, or on a farm (comprising employees, employers and own account workers); or
• worked for one hour or more without pay in a family business or on a farm (i.e. contributing family workers); or
• were employees who had a job but were not at work and were: away from work for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week; or away from work for more than four weeks up to the end of the reference week and received pay for some or all of the four week period to the end of the reference week; or away from work as a standard work or shift arrangement; or on strike or locked out; or on workers' compensation and expected to return to their job; or
• were employers or own account workers, who had a job, business or farm, but were not at work.
   

Payments by employers which are intended to secure for their employees the entitlement to social benefits should certain events occur, or certain circumstances exist, that may adversely affect their employees' income or welfare - namely work-related accidents and retirement. See also Compensation of employees and Wages and salaries.
 

The value of goods exported and amounts receivable from non-residents for the provision of services by residents.

Transport activity that is undertaken on a fee for-hire basis in the Transport, postal and warehousing industry (Division I), as defined in the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industry Classification (ANZSIC).

Employed persons who usually worked 35 hours or more a week (in all jobs) and those who, although usually working fewer than 35 hours a week, worked 35 hours or more during the reference week. See also Part-time workers.

The total market value of goods and services produced in Australia within a given period after deducting the cost of goods and services used up in the process of production, but before deducting allowances for the consumption of fixed capital. Thus gross domestic product, as here defined, is 'at market prices'. Consumption of fixed capital (or depreciation) represents the decline in the current value of the producer’s stock of fixed assets as a result of physical deterioration, foreseen obsolescence or normal accidental damage. Net Domestic Product (NDP) is the result after deducting depreciation from GDP.

A measure of the surplus accruing to owners from processes of production. It is the excess of gross output over the sum of intermediate consumption, compensation of employees, and taxes less subsidies on production and imports. It is calculated before deduction of consumption of fixed capital, dividends, interest, royalties and land rent, and direct taxes payable, but after deducting the inventory valuation adjustment.

The value of output at basic prices minus the value of intermediate consumption at purchasers' prices. The term is used to describe gross product by industry and by sector. Basic prices valuation of output removes the distortion caused by variations in the incidence of commodity taxes and subsidies across the output of individual industries. See also Intermediate consumption and Output.

The hours worked by all labour engaged in the production of transport, including hours worked by wages and salary earners, employers, self-employed persons, and persons working one hour or more without pay in a family business.

Transport undertaken outside of the Transport, postal and warehousing industry (Division I), as defined in the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industry Classification (ANZSIC). This encapsulates both own-account (or ‘ancillary’) production, which is not intended for market, and is consumed in the production of the industry’s primary input, as well as secondary production on transport on a fee for-hire basis. See also Ancillary activity and Secondary activity.

Consists of the value of the goods and services consumed as inputs by a process of production, excluding the consumption of fixed capital. See also Gross value added.

Consist of indexes of real GDP per hour worked. For the whole economy, they have been derived by dividing the chain volume measure of GDP by hours worked. Transport labour productivity indexes have been derived by dividing the chain volume measure of transport GVA by the index for hours worked. Labour productivity indexes reflect not only the contribution of labour to changes in product per labour unit, but are also influenced by the contribution of capital and other factors affecting production.

The difference between the resale price of a good and the cost to the retailer or wholesaler of the good sold. A transport margin consists of the transport charges invoiced separately by the producer in the delivery of a good.

Also referred to as taxes less subsidies on products. A tax or subsidy on a product is payable per unit of a good or service. The tax or subsidy may be a specific amount of money per unit of quantity of a good or service (quantity being measured either in terms of discrete units or continuous physical variables such as volume, weight, strength, distance, time, etc.), or it may be calculated ad valorem as a specified percentage of the price per unit or value of the goods or services transacted. A tax or subsidy on a product usually becomes payable when the product is produced, sold or imported, but it may also become payable in other circumstances, such as when a good is exported, leased, transferred, delivered, or used for own consumption or own capital formation. See also Other taxes on production and Taxes less subsidies on products and imports.

Additivity refers to an aggregate being the sum of its components. This only exists in volume index estimates when a fixed set of prices is used. As weights of a chain volume index change from year to year, chain volume indexes have no base period in the sense of a fixed weight index base period and therefore non-additivity exists in the chain volume measures. In the context of the transport chain volume estimates, 'totals' have been chained separately based on deflating the aggregate current price values, rather than summing the component chain volume estimates. Therefore, it is not recommended to calculate the proportion transport contributes to GDP or gross value added in chain volume terms.

Intermediate inputs which are not primarily used in the production of a specific mode of transport, but support transport activities. Common examples include accounting services and office supplies.

Consist of all taxes that enterprises incur as a result of engaging in production, except taxes on products. Other taxes on production include: taxes related to the payroll or workforce numbers excluding compulsory social security contributions paid by employers and any taxes paid by the employees themselves out of their wages or salaries; recurrent taxes on land, buildings or other structures; some business and professional licences where no service is provided by the Government in return; taxes on the use of fixed assets or other activities; stamp duties; taxes on pollution; and taxes on international transactions. See also Taxes less subsidies on production and imports.

This consists of those goods and services that are produced within an establishment that become available for use outside that establishment, plus any goods and services produced for own final use. See also Gross value added.

Employed persons who usually worked fewer than 35 hours a week (in all jobs) and either did so during the reference week or were not at work during the reference week. See also Full-time workers.

A measure of the price component of the current price value is obtained (usually in the form of a price index) and is divided into the current price value in order to re-value it in the prices of the previous year.

Refers to compensation of employees, operating surplus and other taxes less subsidies on production.

Defined to include:

• The production of all individual or collective goods or services that are supplied to units other than their producers, or intended to be so supplied, including the production of goods or services used up in the process of producing such goods or services;
• The own-account production of all goods that are retained by their producers for their own final consumption or gross capital formation; and
• The own-account production of housing services by owner-occupiers and of domestic and personal services produced by employing paid domestic staff.
   

The amount paid by the purchaser, excluding any deductible tax, in order to take delivery of a unit of a good or service at the time and place required by the purchaser. The purchaser’s price of a good includes any transport charges paid separately by the purchaser to take delivery at the required time and place. See also Basic Price.

Chain volume estimates need to be expressed in terms of the values of a particular reference year. The reference year for an index series is equal to 100, that is, the chain volume estimates are set equal to the current price values. The reference year chosen for the transport chain volume estimates is the previous financial year (t-1). This reference year ensures use of the most recent data available for sub-division level industry value added from unpublished Australian National Account’s (ANA) supply-use tables as well as consistency with the key macroeconomic aggregates (e.g. GDP) published in the ANA’s annual estimates.

Activity carried out within an enterprise in addition to the principal activity and whose output, like that of the principal activity, must be suitable for delivery outside the enterprise. See also Ancillary activity and In-house transport.

Defined as ‘taxes on products’ plus ‘other taxes on production’ less 'subsidies on products' less 'other subsidies on production'. The taxes do not include any taxes on the profits or other income received by an enterprise. They are payable irrespective of the profitability of the production process. They may be payable on the land, fixed assets or labour employed in the production process, or on certain activities or transactions. See also Other taxes on production and Net taxes on products.

Intermediate inputs primarily used in the production of a specific mode of transport. Common examples include fuel, repairs, and maintenance.

Measures growth in the volume of production and expenditures on products between any two periods of interest. Where there is more than one type of product, it is necessary to apply some kind of weighting. This is possible by valuing products at their prices in one or other period and dividing the total value of their combined production in the second period by that in the first. The same prices must be used for both periods to ensure the index reflects only changes in quantities produced. Chain linked volume indexes take account of changes to price relativities that occur from one year to the next. It is the price relativities that determine the weight given to each component of a volume index.

Consist of amounts payable in cash including the value of any social contributions, income taxes, fringe benefits tax, etc., payable by the employee even if they are actually withheld by the employer for administrative convenience or other reasons and paid directly to social insurance schemes, tax authorities, etc., on behalf of the employee. Wages and salaries may be paid as remuneration in kind instead of, or in addition to, remuneration in cash. Separation, termination and redundancy payments are also included in wages and salaries. Wages and salaries are also measured as far as possible on an accrual rather than a strict cash basis.

For information on the institutional environment of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), including the legislative obligations of the ABS, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, please see ABS Institutional Environment.

The Australian Transport Economic Account: An Experimental Transport Satellite Account (ATEA) contains estimates on total transport activity in the economy. Satellite accounts provide a framework designed to expand the analytical capacity of the existing national accounts. They supplement the Australian System of National Accounts (ASNA) and organise information in a consistent way that suits a particular analytical focus while maintaining links to the existing accounts.

This account provides information on the monetary contribution of transport activity across all industries of the Australian economy within the structure of the ASNA. A key feature of this account is that it is set within the context of the whole economy, so that transport's contribution to major national accounting aggregates can be determined and compared with other industries. It measures transport activity undertaken in the Transport, postal and warehousing industry, as already explicitly measured in the national accounts, as well as transport activity conducted by all other industries.

There are currently no agreed international standards or guidelines for developing a Transport Satellite Account, although their development is currently being considered by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).The methodology for the the ATEA is largely consistent with the United States and Canadian Transport accounts, with some variation due to differences in available data sources.

The ATEA is compiled using data from six consecutive years between 2010-11 and 2015-16, on a financial year basis. The most recent data contained in this account relate to the 2015-16 financial year. The ATEA, therefore, lags the most current Australian System of National Accounts publication (2016-17) by a year.

Accuracy remains the main focus of ABS quality control. In the case of the ATEA, it is internationally recognised that an objective measure of accuracy in the sense of proximity to a ‘true value’ is difficult to measure.

The ATEA compilation process transforms multiple data sources into an economic account, with the supply and use tables from the national accounts providing the framework in which total transport activity can be calculated. This approach also allows for the calculation of major aggregates such as transport share of Gross Domestic Product and transport Gross Value Added. Data from Business Transport Activity, Australia (ABS Cat. No. 9269.0) is also incorporated into the ATEA to inform industry use of transport by mode, and transport specific use of fuel. The integration of these data sources involves the use of various methods and assumptions.

Due to the variety of data, assumptions and aggregations utilised in the ATEA compilation process, an assessment of accuracy is necessarily subjective. The ABS aims to achieve best practice in each of these facets. While the related concept of reliability can be objectively measured by an analysis of revisions, if an ATEA is produced again in the future, this does not necessarily indicate the quality of the data series.

While considerable care has been taken to ensure the quality of the estimates, users should exercise some caution in the use and interpretation of the results. As the data sources utilised the compilation of the ATEA feature differing coverage, concepts and timing, they also differ in respect of quality. As such, the accuracy of the estimates are subject to a higher degree of error than broader level estimates published in the national accounts.

For further information refer to the Quality of Estimates section of the Explanatory Notes.

The coherence of data is an aspect of quality closely associated with accuracy, both within the national accounts system, and the partial indicators of the economy. A major unifying feature within the ASNA is the use of supply and use methodology to confront data and balance the components of GDP in annual terms.

In the compilation of the ATEA, supply and use tables have formed the basis for estimates of transport activity in the Australian economy. Supply and use data have been disaggregated and rearranged to focus on total transport activity within all industries in the economy. As such, the ATEA tables will reflect exactly the same measures of major national accounting aggregates such as total GVA and total GDP as the 2016-17 release of the Australian System of National Accounts (cat. no. 5204.0).

The ABS publishes a large amount of data on various aspects of the economy. As the majority of these are used in the national accounts, and the ATEA involves the use of supply and use tables that underlie the national accounts, it could be expected that there would be coherence between the ATEA, partial indicators data and the national accounts.

Significant analysis and commentary is provided in the ATEA publication to aid interpretation of the data. The Main Findings section uses commentary and graphs to guide reader understanding of the detailed data tables. The explanatory notes of the ATEA provide further guidance on the data; along with links to supporting publications for further information on concepts, methodologies and data sources.

For links to all transport related data and publications, recent changes and forthcoming events, relevant websites and a range of other information about the Australian Transport Economic Account, please see the Tourism and Transport Statistics page.

For more detailed information on the ATEA please see the Information Paper: A Future Australian Transport Satellite Account: ABS Views, 2011.