Appendix A

APPENDIX A – WHAT IS MEASURED

Data source and description

The primary source of data used for this analysis is unpublished import and export statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which detail commodity movements by air, direction of trade (imports and exports), units of trade (value and volume) and commodity definition from January 2016 to December 2020. International trade in and out of Australia is recorded using the Harmonized System (HS) for the classification of products. At the international level, the HS for classifying goods is a six-digit code system. The HS comprises approximately 5,300 article/product descriptions that appear as headings and subheadings, arranged in 99 chapters, grouped in 21 sections. The analysis used focuses on the mass tonnes and Free on Board (FOB) values. The value of goods measured on an FOB basis includes all production and other costs incurred up until the goods are placed on board the international carrier for export. FOB values exclude international insurance and transport costs. They include the value of the outside packaging in which the product is wrapped, but do not include the value of the international freight containers used for transporting the goods. FOB values are presented in nominal terms. ABS reported airfreight movements are subject to confidentiality of import and export commodities, either at the commodity level and/or the port level. As such, the reported value or volume measures relying upon these statistics will tend to be underestimated. Furthermore, as the list of commodities is subject to confidentiality change over time, shifts in the value and volume over time may be subject to changes in the confidentiality list.

Exclusion of ‘ship stores’ from exports data

Airfreight classified as ‘Ship stores’ has been excluded from this analysis. This includes fuel carried and used by the aircraft. Ship stores also includes all consumable goods such as food, water and beverages intended for consumption on board an aircraft or ship, and any goods taken on board to be sold.