Shipping has remained the main mode of transporting exports and imports in Australia. In 2003-04, Australia's total international trade in commodities was 623.1 million tonnes (worth $248.5 billion) including 558.6 million tonnes of exports and 64.5 million tonnes of imports. Sea trade accounted for 99.9 per cent of the total trade. Following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the USA, the Bali bombings, the Madrid bombing and more recently, the London bombings, there are security concerns in relation to the movement of containers and ships through Australian ports. Information on the movement of containers and ships is vital for the planning and implementation of security measures at Australian ports. Hence, this study presents the port level forecasts of container and ship movements through Australian ports over the next twenty years. The forecasts are developed for Australia's five main city ports (Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Fremantle) and, in aggregation, other ports (that is, all Australian ports excluding the five main city ports). (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E214666.
Abstract