Methods of transporting imported and exported goods

Overseas merchandise trade statistics provide information on the import and export of merchandise goods between New Zealand and other countries.

One way we can describe overseas trade statistics is by the way goods are transported – how they are imported or exported.

Four transport types are used to import and export goods to and from New Zealand: air; sea; postal consignments, mail, or courier shipments; and self-propelled goods (planes and ships).

Method of transport by year (2000–10)

Sea transport is the most-common transport type used in New Zealand. An average of 87 percent of the exports value, and 76 percent of the imports value, were transported by sea between 2000 and 2010.

Air transport was the next most-common transport method, with averages of 12 percent (exports) and 21 percent (imports).

Between 2000 and 2010, the proportions for different transport types for total exports and imports hardly changed. The notable exception was for imports in 2008. This was caused by an exceptionally high value of imports for the year, which was $6.6 billion greater than in 2007, and $8.3 billion greater than in 2009. The increase in the value of imports for 2008 was led by the high prices for petroleum and products during the year. Petroleum and products are only imported by sea.

See Figures 1 and 2

Method of transport by commodity (Year ended December 2010)

We use the New Zealand Harmonised System Classification (HS) to classify the collection, compilation, and dissemination of overseas merchandise trade statistics.

Exports

The 10 largest HS chapters (2-digit Harmonised System codes) by value for exports contributed 66 percent of total exports in 2010.

See Figure 3

For the year ended December 2010, sea transport was almost the only transport method for seven of the top 10 exported HS chapters. Of the remaining three chapters, only electrical machinery had air as the most-common type of transport – 57 percent of the total value of electrical machinery was exported by air. 

Imports

The 10 largest HS chapters by value for imports contributed 62 percent of total imports.

See Figure 4

Five of the top 10 import chapters were imported mainly by sea transport. Electrical machinery, precision instruments and apparatus, and pharmaceuticals had more of their value imported by air than sea. Aircraft and parts had slightly over 50 percent of its annual value imported as self-propelled vehicles.