Ports Australia has launched an industry-first trade statistics resource, showcasing the ports sector’s trade data in detail and style.
Collating industry data has been a routine aspect of Ports Australia’s agenda for many years; however, the team has recently worked tirelessly to transform that data into a multi-layered resource with a stylish and accessible format. We’ve endeavoured to create a representation of the ports industry through an even tighter scope with a focus on specific, individualised data, that which cannot be found through government-produced publications.
The new representation features a range of metrics with which our ports’ trade are measured, including throughput in mass tonnes, monetary value of cargo, types of cargo, and numbers of vessel calls.
Ports Australia CEO, Mike Gallacher is excited to launch the project and emphasised its purpose.
‘One thing we value at Ports Australia is showcasing the value of our nation’s ports and there’s no better representation than the impressive numbers they turnover in trade.
‘This is a one-stop-shop for everything data when it comes to ports. The ability to compare the throughput of two ports from opposite sides of the nation is the ability to analyse Australia’s wealth of resources across the states, territories, and regions.
‘The effort we’ve put into the site’s style and accessibility reflect show useful we believe it will be for industry members, parliamentarians, journalists, scholars, and even school children,’ Mike said.
This resource is one Ports Australia will look to adapt and extend from its current infancy as time goes on, with plenty of opportunity to enhance the parameters (frequency of data updates for example) through which it displays information.
Mike said this resource comes at a time when accessible information is imperative to improving public confidence in our sector.
‘With greater awareness across government, industry and the public, we can avoid information vacuums which lead to situations like the panic-buying saga during the early stages of COVID-19.
‘It’s clear that even if the supply chain industry knows there is no chinks in its armour or shortages in its trading commodities, it only takes some public uncertainty to create panic. We believe this resource can bridge information gaps and provide a true representation of the state of Australia’s ports sector.
‘As it’s developed, we’re excited to see this resource explore the trends experienced by our sector before, during and after the trying times of the pandemic,’ Mike said.
This week across our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, we’ll be highlighting some of the most interesting things we’ve found while undertaking this project.
To view the resource, go here. You can also download the raw data in Excels sreadsheet form down below at the 'Download Publication' button.
Check out the image below for a snapshot of how the resource looks, taking one of our largest exporters, Port Hedland (Pilbara Ports Authority) for example. This view shows Port Hedland’s total throughput, cargo value, number of vessel calls (by type of vessel), export commodities:
