Index Predicts Moderate Growth in Retail Sales
Australian retail sales continue to grow just below trend at a moderate 3.8 per cent in the March quarter of 2016, with easing to 3.3 per cent predicted in the June quarter, according to the AFGC CHEP Retail Index released today.
Within this broader trend, in the month of March 2016, year-on-year retail growth was also at 3.8 per cent with turnover of $24.98 billion. In May, in line with the quarterly result, growth is forecast to soften to 3.3 per cent with turnover of $25.02 billion.
Australian Food and Grocery Council CEO, Gary Dawson, said: “The good news is that despite the challenges Australian manufacturers face of staying competitive in a country with high costs, low margins and food price deflation, the retail sector continues to grow year-on-year. The stronger than average retail sales growth in 2014 and 2015, which was supported by interest rate cuts and sharp falls in petrol prices, is now levelling to what might be considered normal.”
President of CHEP Asia Pacific, Phillip Austin, said: “At CHEP, we continue to support a variety of industries, such as fresh produce, consumer goods, retail, automotive, and more, each of which follow different cycles. Whatever the headwinds or opportunities faced by each industry, we will continue to work with our customers and industry partners to drive sustainable efficiencies in their supply chains.”
The AFGC CHEP Retail Index is a collaborative project between the Australian Food and Grocery Council and CHEP Australia, powered by Deloitte. The Index uses CHEP transactional data based on pallet movements and is a lead indicator of Australian Bureau of Statistics Retail Trade Data.
The next AFGC CHEP Retail Index will be released in late July 2016. To read the Index and access more background information, visit www.afgc.org.au or www.chep.com.
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More information:
AFGC Media Contact: James Mathews 0407 416 002
CHEP Australia Media Contact: Kathryn Crofts 0437 108 844
Brambles Media Contact: Dzintra Horder 0405 711 786