Record Low Financial Year Bicycle Imports Confirmed
Canberra, ACT
As we previously reported here, bicycle imports for the most recent financial year have been running at a very low rate.
That article was based upon data up to 31st May 2024 with a projection for June, but we now have actual data for June 2024 to complete the 2023/24 financial year.
In total 61,080 analogue bicycles were imported during June 2024. That’s up on the 47,586 bicycles imported in June 2023, but still significantly down on a typical June total over the past 15 years, which has averaged 79,985 units since 2010.
Within the June total, children’s bikes were at a very low of 16,258 units. That’s the second lowest June children’s bike total since 2010. Adult bike imports were up quite strongly to 44,822 units. That’s the highest monthly total for adult bike imports since November 2023 and the third highest month for the 2023/24 financial year.
Looking at the 2023/24 financial year totals, 704,991 bikes were imported, composed of 307,255 children’s bikes and 397,736 adult bikes.
That’s the lowest total imports for the past 25 financial years. The only recent year to come close was 800,097 in 2022/23 which was saw the start of the post-covid stock overhang.
To put the drop into perspective, average annual imports from 2010/11 through to 2021/22 were 1,322,535.
But analogue bike imports these days do not tell the full story, because back in the 2010’s there were hardly any e-bikes being imported. In the 2023/24 financial year there were approximately 261,141 e-bikes imported. As explained in more detail in previous data articles, this is only taking 90% of the customs code because it also includes e-motorcycles.
Even adding e-bikes to the analogue bikes, the total volume imported was only 966,132 units.
But in part because the unit value of the e-bikes imported is well over twice as high as the analogue bikes, the total value of imports is higher these days than it was back in the 2010’s despite today’s volumes being lower.
The average FOB (free on board) import value of analogue bikes for 2023/24 was $322.27. This is well down from the peak of $446.17 in 2022/23, but still well above the five year average pre covid of $211.27.
Thanks to Bicycle Industries Australia who compile and share Australian Border Force import data.