August Import Data Shows the Depth of the Bike Shortage

Bicycle import numbers for August 2020 have now been released and they underline the relative inflexibility of the global bicycle supply chain.

Only 122,581 bicycles were imported into Australia in August. This is up slightly on last year when 114,484 bikes were imported, but down on every other August for the previous decade, all the way back to 2009. The record-high number for August imports was 151,548 back in 2010 and they’ve exceeded 130,000 on five other years over the past decade.

Within the August 2020 data, 39,568 children’s bikes and 83,013 adult bikes were imported.

By August, most wholesalers and retailers were desperate for more stock. The market would have gladly taken double the number of bikes actually imported, so why were import numbers down?

Most likely it is a result of two main factors. Firstly long production lead times from factories, at least in part due to delays in them receiving components.

Secondly huge demand from northern hemisphere markets such as the USA and Europe who were still in their summer season in August.

We expect to see the monthly bike import data gradually increasing for the rest of 2020 with demand still strong, supply still has a lot of catching up to do.