July saw declines in turnover for 7 out of 13 industries, including alumina: Australian Bureau of Statistics

According to data released on September 8, 2023, by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), business turnover in July witnessed declines in seven of the 13 selected industries.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government, responsible for statistical collection and analysis and for giving evidence-based advice to federal, state and territory governments.

However, on June 7, ABS stated, "Our economy grew 0.2 per cent during the March quarter 2023 and 2.3 per cent compared to the same time last year. This was the sixth straight quarter of economic growth, though it was the weakest quarterly growth since the COVID-19 Delta lockdowns in September quarter 2021. GDP per capita fell 0.2 per cent.”

The Electricity, gas, water, and waste services sector saw the most significant monthly decline in business turnover, according to Robert Ewing, the Head of Business Statistics.

He added, “The 14.9 per cent fall in turnover for Electricity, gas, water and waste services can be attributed to a large decrease in wholesale electricity prices. Turnover in this industry has been volatile since the energy crisis mid-2022.”

Manufacturing businesses witnessed a 5 per cent decrease, primarily attributed to reduced turnover in alumina production and precious metal manufacturing sectors. The arts and recreation sector also experienced the second most significant decline in turnover, with a decrease of 6.1 per cent.

In 1Q2023, alumina production in the Oceania region totalled 4.638 million tonnes, reflecting a plunge of 10.70 per cent from 5.194 million tonnes during the same period of the previous year. However, according to Harbor Aluminium, world alumina production is set to boom outside Australia amid new expansions in China, India, Indonesia, etc.

Meanwhile, the administrative and support services sector experienced a notable increase of 3.8 per cent, while the construction industry saw a 2.0 per cent rise in turnover.

The indicator showed 8 of 13 industries growth instead of monthly declines in July 2022. The leading sectors in terms of growth were construction (with a substantial increase of 19.2 per cent), other services (showing a significant rise of 14.3 per cent), and administration and support services (recording a noteworthy increase of 10.9 per cent).