Where the Australian Logistics Industry Is Heading

The Australian logistics industry is an important factor to the national, being an island, and thus many measures are taken to grow the transport, logistics and shipping industry state-by-state and as a nation on a yearly basis. In this blog post by Transco Cargo Australia, we look back on 2017 whilst highlighting expected forecasts by industry experts.

First and foremost, when you take in the Australian logistics industry you also look at transport and shipping, and thus the scope of the industry covers a lot of ground. The scope of the Australia logistics industry covers the likes of services rendered from courier pick-up and delivery, customs agency services, warehousing (cold storage/grain storage for bulk shipping), long distance bus transport, port operations, postal services, road/rail/air/sea freight forwarding, removals and movers, road freight transport, scenic/sightseeing transport, taxi/limo services, as well as urban bus and tram transport services too.

If we were to take a snapshot of the key transport and Australian logistics industry metrics, it would show the following.

Revenue ($b) 96.65

Profit ($b) 10.41

Average Wage ($) 66,712.44

No of Businesses 84,635

Employment Growth to 2023 (%) 3.3

Transport And Logistics Workforce By State/Territory

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (2017) 2016 Census – Employment, Income and Education

The Australian logistics industry has a few challenges and opportunities too. These include the likes of technological innovations and automation, the IoT, omni-channel logistics, supply chain, traceability, safety & regulatory environment, and gender diversity.

With technology playing a key part in both challenges and opportunities in the Australian logistics industry, the introduction of Industry 4.0, which is “the next industrial incorporating  complex computerised systems, data, and software to aid in smart processes and products”, this will affect the Australian logistics industry, in terms of the workforce and the skills needed.

Predominately, the Australian logistics industry is male, but with the advent of Industry 4.0, more opportunities will open up for the female workforce. Whilst automation isn’t a new player in the Australian logistics industry, its use and growth has increased rapidly seen in the likes of Port of Melbourne (with the VICT (the Victoria International Container Terminal – automated container terminal operations), as well as at Port Botany in Sydney, and the Port of Brisbane too which covers the south-eastern coast of Australia.

There are plans to also bring in semi-autonomous vehicle technology (as those introduced by Tesla Motors) to the road freight/transport sectors. The likes of ITF (integrated transport facilities) are also in gear for operational components such as receipt of goods, logistical storage, and dispatching within a unified centre.

The Internet of things (or IoT), reflects the use and trends of networking devices/sensors/data collecting tools for information mining/gathering. This aids in tracking operations (assets and goods), understanding capacities of warehouses as well as transportation of freight.  T

Omni- channel logistics, which means combining the various channels of logistics seamlessly, facilitates the ability to allow consumers to purchase items all year round. The change from traditional single/multi-channel processes in the logistics area to that of omni-channel logistics (which means all day/night availability of consumerism and a multiple delivery locations) that work towards making it as convenient to the consumer as much as possible. This in turn ties up supply chain with marketing and merchandising all in one.