TRADE CONTINUES TO GROW AT PORT OF MELBOURNE

Total trade in revenue tonnes through the Port of Melbourne for April 2018 ended 5.6% above April last year and 8.9% up for the financial year to date.

Total container throughput (full + empty) for April totaled 226,867 TEU which was 3.0% above April 2017 and up 8.4% for the financial year to date.

Total container imports for the month were up 1.7% while total exports increased 4.3%.

Motor vehicle trade increased for the fourth consecutive month with a 21.4% increase over April 2017 to be up 9.4% for the financial year to date.

All of the monthly gains came from the import sector with overseas imports of new passenger vehicles up 26.6% and imports of transport equipment (commercial vehicles) up 29.9%

After three months of decline, liquid bulk trade returned a 21.6% increase over April 2017 to be up 1.0% on a year to date basis. Imports of crude oil and petroleum products were the main commodities responsible for the monthly increase, with gains of 13.5% (+23,700 tonnes) and 40.0% (+79,600 tonnes) respectively.

Other breakbulk cargoes continued to perform strongly, increasing 72.9% over April to be up 28.8% for the financial year to date. The majority of the monthly increase can be attributed to imports of non-electrical machinery, iron & steel and metal manufactures.