THE FIRST half of the 2025 calendar year saw Australian container volumes ratchet up by 0.9% compared to the prior year, according to figures from Container Trade Statistics.
CTS, which warns its numbers are preliminary and may be subject to revision, recorded 3,505,400 TEU for 1H25, compared to 3,474,000 TEU for 1H24 and 3,080,300 TEU for 1H 2023.
While imports continue to outdistance exports, it was the latter that registered 2.2% growth to 1,379,100 TEU (up 29,300 TEU) while imports rose by 0.4% to 1,976,100 TEU. The intra-Australasia trade dropped by 4.1%, according to CTS.
Exports to the Far East [CTS continues to classify N&E Asia and SE Asia as a single tradelane] grew by 3.9%, to North America by 8.0%, and to the otherwise insignificant Sub-Saharan Africa by 5.8%. The falls were in trade to Europe (down 7.4%), Middle East/ISC (- 5.9%) and Latin America (-4.4%).
Imports from the Far East – which comprise 73% of the total – grew by 2.5% to 1,440,100 TEU in 1H25, compared to 1,404,700 TEU in 1H24 and 1,177,500 TEU in 1H23.
Growth in imports was also recorded from Middle East/ISC (2.1%) and the still insignificant Latin America (1%). However, there were more notable falls, from Europe (6.8%) and North America (6.0%). Overall, imports climbed by just 8,100 TEU year-on-year.
Looking at CTS’s assessment of rates for 2Q25, outbound levels to the Far East contracted by around 10% but increased to the Middle East/ISC. Inbound, the Far East and Middle East/ISC rates rose – the latter by more than 30% y-o-y – while Europe and North America both fell by more than 10% in the quarter. Intra-Australasia continued their slide.