Australia Transportation Profile 2012

25/11/2010 Freight Transport Statement Q1 2011

Despite the world economic downturn, both China and India are still battling for access to the world's natural resources and are willing to make huge investments to develop the infrastructure of Australia. However, the scrapping of major China-Australia container shipping services does not bode well for the national of the Australian economy. BMI's core view that mining companies will seek to gain ownership of freight networks such as railway lines and ports to complement their business operations and ensure their supply chain was reinforced by the pledge of BHP Billiton and Hancock Coal to invest in new coal terminals at Australia's Abbot Point.

Australia's air freight sector is estimate to post a year on time(y-o-y) increase of 4.3% in 2010, this is a recovery on 2009 when cargo volumes carried by air fall by an estimated -1.82%. Increase in throughput at Australia's ports in 2010 is expected to be between 2.5% and 4% in 2010 but this will fall back over the estimate period after the initial recovery spurt subsides. We predicts a increase of 6.02% for rail freight in FY10, after an estimated annual fall of -0.64% in FY09. This will again fall off to a CAGR of 2% over the estimate period. Road freight which is most flexible to change is expected to grow 6.7% in tonnes carried in 2010 and is expected to experience a CAGR of 2.3% over the estimate period.

11/10/2010 Shipping Statement Q4 2010

The core view that mining companies will seek to gain ownership of freight networks such as railway lines and ports to complement their business operations and ensure their supply chain has once again been highlighted by mining companies BHP Billiton and Hancock Coal pledging to invest in new coal terminals at Australia's Abbot Point. The expansion project, like others at Australia's coal export terminals, has been driven by growing Chinese request, which has seen vessels form queues outside New South Wales ports as request intensifies and the country's port infrastructure struggles to cope. In the other hangd we believes that China's coal request is a phenomenon that will last throughout the mid term, we are worried about the effect that a fall in Chinese coal request in the short term will have on Australia's port expansions, as developers faced with falling coal throughput volumes may question the need for further investment.

By 2011, capacity at the port is set to be lifted from the current 21mn tonnes per year to 50mn tonnes per year. BHP Billiton and Hancock Coal plan to build new terminals at the port, a project that when completed will see Abbot Point offering a coal export capacity of 110mn tonnes per annum. The port's management hopes to develop Abbot Point into the major coal port in Australia and the world within 10 years, which would require significant expansion work. According to data from Ports Australia, Abbot Point is ranked fourth out of Australia's top coal export ports, handling 14.4mn tonnes of coal in the 2008/2009 financial year.

Trams in Australia historically serviced a lot of Australian towns and several cities formerly operated tram networks, however the majority of these were shut down before the 1970s. Melbourne is an exception here however, and today boasts the major tram network of any city in the world. Major regional cities where trams formerly facilitated multi-modal public transport networks Launceston, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Rockhampton.