Industry sectors

With globalisation creating ever growing interdependency between businesses and regions, transport and logistics has never been so important.

Download NSW Transport & Logistics Sector Profile

NSW - Australia’s transport hub

With NSW's major population, central position on the east coast of Australia, and the importance of its air and sea freight ports, it naturally serves as a national hub.

Transport is big business in NSW. In fact, NSW is responsible for 26 per cent of Australia’s total freight haulage.

About 60 per cent of all interstate freight in Australia is carried on roads, and NSW accounts for 34 per cent of the country’s total road freight.

On the rails

But it is the rail transport sector (including passenger transport) which has been the fastest growing segment of the NSW freight transport, logistics and warehousing industry - recording an annual average employment growth of 11.8 per cent in five years to 2009.

Driving business

The freight transport and logistics industry is estimated to account for up to 11.2 per cent of NSW's Gross State Product, equivalent to $34.3 billion per annum.

NSW has about 29,000 businesses classifying themselves as belonging to the industry.

While transport and logistics is a sector dominated by a few large players, the majority of businesses are small and medium-size enterprises (accounting for over 90 per cent of all activities).

Transport and logistics encompasses several areas, including:

• Logistics management and planning
• Warehousing and distribution
• Maritime/sea freight
• Stevedoring
• Aviation
• Road transport
• Rail freight
• Intermodal operations
• Courier delivery services.