The Port of Melbourne handled 314,000 TEU in December 2025, up 10.9% from the same month last year. The increase represents 31,000 additional TEU compared to December 2024.
Full imports excluding Bass Strait reached 125,000 TEU, an 8.5% year-on-year increase. The segment added 10,000 TEU compared to December 2024.
Full exports excluding Bass Strait totaled 60,000 TEU, up 5.5% or 3,000 TEU year-on-year. Full transhipment excluding Bass Strait rose 18.0% to 19,000 TEU, adding 3,000 TEU.
Full Bass Strait traffic grew 6.7% to 21,000 TEU, up 1,000 TEU from the previous year. Empty containers showed the strongest growth, surging 18.2% to 90,000 TEU, an increase of 14,000 TEU year-on-year.
First Half Performance Shows Steady Growth
For the financial year to date (July-December 2025), total container trade reached 1.80 million TEU. The figure represents a 4.0% increase or 70,000 additional TEU compared to the same period last year.
Full imports excluding Bass Strait stood at 726,000 TEU for the half year, up 3.8% or 26,000 TEU. Full exports excluding Bass Strait declined 1.7% to 353,000 TEU, down 6,000 TEU.
Full transhipment excluding Bass Strait grew 9.1% to 94,000 TEU, adding 8,000 TEU. Full Bass Strait traffic increased marginally by 0.6% to 124,000 TEU, up just 1,000 TEU.
Empty containers rose 8.9% to 498,000 TEU for the half year, an increase of 41,000 TEU.
Non-Container Trade Rises 7.8%
Non-container trade reached 2.09 million revenue tonnes in December 2025, up 7.8% or 152,000 revenue tonnes year-on-year.
Motor vehicles led the non-container segment with 697,000 revenue tonnes, an 11.3% increase or 71,000 revenue tonnes. Break bulk traffic surged 86.2% to 91,000 revenue tonnes, adding 42,000 revenue tonnes.
Dry bulk grew 18.9% to 519,000 revenue tonnes, up 83,000 revenue tonnes. The “other” category increased 14.3% to 349,000 revenue tonnes, adding 44,000 revenue tonnes.
Liquid bulk declined 16.8% to 431,000 revenue tonnes, down 87,000 revenue tonnes from December 2024.
For the financial year to date, non-container trade totaled 12.36 million revenue tonnes, up 1.8% or 213,000 revenue tonnes year-on-year. The “other” category showed the strongest half-year performance, rising 16.9% to 2.19 million revenue tonnes, an increase of 316,000 revenue tonnes.
