SIMIC

AUSTRALASIAN container trades hit 7,114,800 TEU in 2024, according to London-based Container Trade Statistics' provisional figures.

This compares to 6,544,500 TEU in 2023 and 6,596,900 TEU in 2022, reports Australia's Daily Cargo News.



Unusually, growth in import and exports trades was almost identical in 2024, at 9.4 per cent and 9.3 per cent respectively but the total growth of 8.7 per cent was held back by a 4 per cent contraction in inter-Australasian trades.



Australasian containerised imports rose 353,200 TEU, with growth in four corridors - Far East (12 per cent - noting CTS counts North & East Asia, and South East Asia, as a single trade), Europe (2.2 per cent), Middle East/Indian Sub-Continent (11.9 per cent) and Latin America (18.5 per cent). Two tradelanes fell, most notably North America by 1.4 per cent.



Sub-Saharan African fell 10.1 per cent but that trade accounted for only 18,700 TEU in 2024.



Australasian containerised exports grew by 229,800 TEU to 2.69 million TEU with all routes posting significant gains, although the Far East was the slowest - albeit by far the strongest at 1,857,100 TEU, up from 1,756,600 TEU in 2023, thus rising 5.7 per cent.



Exports to Europe were up 7 per cent, to North America 11.9 per cent, to Middle East/ISC an outstanding 33.7 per cent, to Sub Saharan Africa by 7.9 per cent and to Latin America 15.6 per cent.