Overseas Cargo Statistics: Year ended June 2005

Introduction

Overseas cargo statistics, like overseas merchandise trade statistics, are sourced from export and import entry documents lodged with the New Zealand Customs Service (NZCS). The data is processed and passed to Statistics New Zealand for further editing and compilation. Overseas cargo statistics record the value and gross weight of all goods loaded or unloaded at New Zealand sea and air ports.

Overseas cargo loaded (exports) statistics

Inclusions:

• all goods and material grown, produced or manufactured in New Zealand (also included as part of merchandise trade)
• articles, wholly or partially manufactured in New Zealand from imported materials, which have changed in character as a result of the production process (also included as part of merchandise trade)
• goods re-exported in the same condition in which they were imported, and which, after having undergone operations such as repacking, remain essentially unchanged (also included as part of merchandise trade)
• goods for foreign aid projects (also included as part of merchandise trade)
• goods being returned after repair or modification in New Zealand
• goods on short-term loan or lease
• goods consigned for modification or repair
• replacements
• returnable containers
• returnable samples
• short shipped goods
• aircraft spares being consigned overseas for use in New Zealand aircraft, and unserviceable parts which have been removed from foreign aircraft being returned overseas.

Exclusions:

• large one-off exports and re-exports of transport equipment, for example aircraft, shipping vessels, oil rigs etc, that arrive in or depart from the country under their own power (also excluded from merchandise trade)
• goods consigned to New Zealand forces
• goods consigned to New Zealand diplomatic representatives overseas (other than motor vehicles)
• currency transactions in gold, silver and current coin
• consignments valued under $1,000
• goods in transit or trans-shipment goods
• ships and aircraft on commercial visits
• passengers' baggage (other than duty-free exports).

 

Overseas cargo unloaded (imports) statistics

Inclusions:

• goods which add to the stock of material resources in New Zealand as a result of their movement into the country (also included as part of merchandise trade)
• goods being returned after repair or modification from overseas
• goods on short-term loan or lease
• replacements
• returnable containers
• returnable samples
• short shipped goods.

Exclusions:

• large one-off imports of transport equipment, for example aircraft, shipping vessels, oil rigs etc, that arrive in or depart from the country under their own power (also included as part of merchandise trade)
• goods imported for use by foreign armed forces
• goods imported for official representatives of overseas countries (other than motor vehicles)
• consignments valued under $1,000
• goods in transit or trans-shipment goods
• ships and aircraft on commercial visits
• currency transactions in gold, silver and current coin
• passengers' baggage (other than dutiable imports)
• fish and other sea products landed in New Zealand
• temporary imports into New Zealand (eg yachts visiting New Zealand) for which goods and services tax (GST) is not payable.

 

Valuations

Cargo loaded (exports)

Exports (including re-exports) are valued fob (free on board) and are shown in New Zealand dollars. In some cases goods are sent on consignment and the selling prices are not known until goods are disposed of at their destination. In these cases, fob values are based on prices current at the time of export. Values given in foreign currencies are converted by Statistics New Zealand into New Zealand dollars using weekly exchange rates when the statistics are compiled.

Cargo unloaded (imports)

Imports are valued at cif (cost including insurance and freight) and are shown in New Zealand dollars. These values are converted from foreign currencies when import documents are processed by the NZCS. The exchange rates used are set by the NZCS each fortnight.

Time of recording

Cargo loaded (exports)

From the August 1997 reference month, exports are compiled by date of export. Previously, exports were generally compiled according to date of clearance at the NZCS. This meant that some goods were allocated to the month following their actual month of export. Exports up to July 1997 that were not cleared until August 1997 were assigned to the month of August 1997.

From 1 March 2004, the NZCS does not allow goods to be loaded for export until an export entry has been lodged and cleared. A study undertaken in 2001/2002 indicated that exports entries not being lodged might account for between 1 and 3 percent of exports at that time. There is a possibility that the changed NZCS processes may have reduced this undercoverage, although this has not been quantified.

Cargo unloaded (imports)

Imports are generally compiled by date of entry clearance at the NZCS. Entries are normally required from up to five days before, to 20 working days after, arrival of the goods in New Zealand. Entries for crude oil are lodged later than this. Crude oil values for the latest month are calculated using actual quantities and country of origin data together with estimated prices. The estimated prices are replaced by actual prices a month later.

More information

For more information, follow the link from the Technical Notes of this release on the Statistics NZ website.

Copyright

Information obtained from Statistics NZ may be freely used, reproduced, or quoted unless otherwise specified. In all cases Statistics NZ must be acknowledged as the source.

Liability

While care has been used in processing, analysing and extracting information, Statistics NZ gives no warranty that the information supplied is free from error. Statistics NZ shall not be liable for any loss suffered through the use, directly or indirectly, of any information, product or service.

Timing

Timed statistical releases are delivered using postal and electronic services provided by third parties. Delivery of these releases may be delayed by circumstances outside the control of Statistics NZ. Statistics NZ accepts no responsibility for any such delays.

Next release ...

Overseas Cargo Statistics: Year ended June 2006 will be released on 20 September 2006.