Australian business turnover rises 0.5% in March, driven by wholesale trade growth

Business turnover in Australia rose 0.5% in trend terms in March, marking continued monthly growth since September 2024, according to data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Robert Ewing, head of business statistics at the ABS, noted that turnover increased across a majority of industries.

"The 13-industry aggregate showed a 0.4% rise in seasonally adjusted terms, with eight of the 13 industries recording growth," he said.

The wholesale trade industry led the gains with a 2.2% increase, driven by a rebound in basic material wholesaling—following a decline in February exports—and strong performance in motor vehicle and parts wholesaling.

However, the overall rise was partly offset by declines in five industries.

The largest drops were recorded in electricity, gas, water and waste services (-4.1%) and transport, postal and warehousing (-3.9%), both affected by adverse weather in Queensland, New South Wales, and Western Australia.

Year-on-year, business turnover was up in 11 of the 13 industries tracked.
The strongest annual gains were seen in manufacturing (+11.9%) and information media and telecommunications (+9.7%).

Meanwhile, mining and arts and recreation services reported annual declines of 5.9% and 1.4%, respectively.