Private new capital expenditure (capex) fell 0.2 per cent in December quarter 2024, to be 0.6 per cent higher than December quarter 2023 (seasonally adjusted, chain volume measures), according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Robert Ewing, ABS head of business statistics, said: "Business investment fell 0.6 per cent in the mining industry, with non-mining industries down 0.1 per cent."
| Building - Seasonal ($m) | Building - Trend ($m) | Equipment - Seasonal ($m) | Equipment - Trend ($m) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec-04 | 9,232 | 9,355 | 12,916 | 12,192 |
| Mar-05 | 10,139 | 9,997 | 12,056 | 12,512 |
| Jun-05 | 10,725 | 11,041 | 12,938 | 12,956 |
| Sep-05 | 12,493 | 12,173 | 13,567 | 13,748 |
| Dec-05 | 13,675 | 13,393 | 14,870 | 14,496 |
| Mar-06 | 14,101 | 14,459 | 14,774 | 14,677 |
| Jun-06 | 15,616 | 14,812 | 14,196 | 14,496 |
| Sep-06 | 14,535 | 14,620 | 14,448 | 14,285 |
| Dec-06 | 13,739 | 14,565 | 14,314 | 14,420 |
| Mar-07 | 16,835 | 16,455 | 14,895 | 15,006 |
| Jun-07 | 17,708 | 17,070 | 15,653 | 15,397 |
| Sep-07 | 16,621 | 17,440 | 15,657 | 15,730 |
| Dec-07 | 17,907 | 17,547 | 16,069 | 16,108 |
| Mar-08 | 18,088 | 17,709 | 16,519 | 16,771 |
| Jun-08 | 17,689 | 18,383 | 17,664 | 17,455 |
| Sep-08 | 19,526 | 19,861 | 17,955 | 17,641 |
| Dec-08 | 22,239 | 21,046 | 17,147 | 17,406 |
| Mar-09 | 20,856 | 21,137 | 16,848 | 16,936 |
| Jun-09 | 20,427 | 20,071 | 17,160 | 16,881 |
| Sep-09 | 18,482 | 19,129 | 16,441 | 17,213 |
| Dec-09 | 19,002 | 18,983 | 18,279 | 17,448 |
| Mar-10 | 20,010 | 19,654 | 17,072 | 17,095 |
| Jun-10 | 20,139 | 20,708 | 16,417 | 16,437 |
| Sep-10 | 22,478 | 21,630 | 15,647 | 16,279 |
| Dec-10 | 22,204 | 22,537 | 17,293 | 17,002 |
| Mar-11 | 24,092 | 24,350 | 18,211 | 17,927 |
| Jun-11 | 26,469 | 27,040 | 18,328 | 18,581 |
| Sep-11 | 31,744 | 30,334 | 18,986 | 18,863 |
| Dec-11 | 32,136 | 33,570 | 19,044 | 19,016 |
| Mar-12 | 36,630 | 36,095 | 19,086 | 19,127 |
| Jun-12 | 38,114 | 37,303 | 19,110 | 19,314 |
| Sep-12 | 36,582 | 37,059 | 19,634 | 19,465 |
| Dec-12 | 35,920 | 35,854 | 19,510 | 19,305 |
| Mar-13 | 35,040 | 35,486 | 18,596 | 18,886 |
| Jun-13 | 35,771 | 36,005 | 18,277 | 18,218 |
| Sep-13 | 37,297 | 36,455 | 17,842 | 17,519 |
| Dec-13 | 36,227 | 36,434 | 16,400 | 16,817 |
| Mar-14 | 34,474 | 36,038 | 16,702 | 16,465 |
| Jun-14 | 36,028 | 35,739 | 16,257 | 16,701 |
| Sep-14 | 35,204 | 35,172 | 17,556 | 17,205 |
| Dec-14 | 34,210 | 33,887 | 17,431 | 17,413 |
| Mar-15 | 31,550 | 31,958 | 17,156 | 17,042 |
| Jun-15 | 30,577 | 30,275 | 16,302 | 16,278 |
| Sep-15 | 27,568 | 28,438 | 15,406 | 15,739 |
| Dec-15 | 28,220 | 27,244 | 15,753 | 15,635 |
| Mar-16 | 25,522 | 25,398 | 15,824 | 15,843 |
| Jun-16 | 22,886 | 23,358 | 16,108 | 15,985 |
| Sep-16 | 21,795 | 21,984 | 15,884 | 15,899 |
| Dec-16 | 21,914 | 21,799 | 15,737 | 15,754 |
| Mar-17 | 22,257 | 22,136 | 15,642 | 15,692 |
| Jun-17 | 22,384 | 22,504 | 15,846 | 15,816 |
| Sep-17 | 22,816 | 22,688 | 16,104 | 16,158 |
| Dec-17 | 22,695 | 22,656 | 16,523 | 16,532 |
| Mar-18 | 22,301 | 22,361 | 17,149 | 16,931 |
| Jun-18 | 22,060 | 21,990 | 16,929 | 17,329 |
| Sep-18 | 21,491 | 21,731 | 18,017 | 17,654 |
| Dec-18 | 22,107 | 21,854 | 17,750 | 17,885 |
| Mar-19 | 21,520 | 21,501 | 17,895 | 17,925 |
| Jun-19 | 20,794 | 21,094 | 17,929 | 17,790 |
| Sep-19 | 20,981 | 20,668 | 17,468 | 17,626 |
| Dec-19 | 20,035 | 20,206 | 17,492 | 17,341 |
| Mar-20 | 19,803 | 19,526 | 17,121 | 17,150 |
| Jun-20 | 18,770 | 18,753 | 15,541 | 17,208 |
| Sep-20 | 18,122 | 18,263 | 15,658 | 17,514 |
| Dec-20 | 18,212 | 18,330 | 16,837 | 17,938 |
| Mar-21 | 18,908 | 18,915 | 18,238 | 18,226 |
| Jun-21 | 19,864 | 19,622 | 18,367 | 18,341 |
| Sep-21 | 19,980 | 20,162 | 18,361 | 18,378 |
| Dec-21 | 20,513 | 20,395 | 18,428 | 18,449 |
| Mar-22 | 20,529 | 20,383 | 18,524 | 18,583 |
| Jun-22 | 20,211 | 20,405 | 18,870 | 18,712 |
| Sep-22 | 20,593 | 20,689 | 18,775 | 18,847 |
| Dec-22 | 21,524 | 21,449 | 19,005 | 19,116 |
| Mar-23 | 22,247 | 22,372 | 19,551 | 19,523 |
| Jun-23 | 23,367 | 23,064 | 20,044 | 19,891 |
| Sep-23 | 23,277 | 23,460 | 20,081 | 20,150 |
| Dec-23 | 23,513 | 23,496 | 20,204 | 20,346 |
| Mar-24 | 23,550 | 23,310 | 20,766 | 20,555 |
| Jun-24 | 22,800 | 23,168 | 20,571 | 20,697 |
| Sep-24 | 23,225 | 23,123 | 20,840 | 20,741 |
| Dec-24 | 23,281 | 23,180 | 20,680 | 20,726 |
New equipment and machinery fell 0.8 per cent driven by a 1.0 per cent fall in non-mining equipment. This was partially offset by a 0.6 per cent rise in mining equipment.
"Construction drove the drop in equipment and machinery capex, down 8.1 per cent. The fall came mainly from businesses in the trade sector that had reduced investment on light trucks, utes, and machinery.
"Strong investment in data centres by the information media and telecommunications industry, up 22.3 per cent, offset the overall fall in equipment and machinery," Mr Ewing said.
Capex was up 0.2 per cent for buildings and structures, with the non-mining industries rising 1.1 per cent. This was partly offset by a fall in mining of 1.1 per cent.
"Electricity, gas, water and waste services rose 8.9 per cent for buildings and structures with a ramp up of investment on electricity transmission and generation as well as ongoing spending on renewable projects.
"This rise was offset by a fall in mining industry spending on buildings and structures. The 1.1 per cent drop reflected less spend by lithium miners," Mr Ewing said.
The largest falls for states and territories total capex were in South Australia (-6.7 per cent), New South Wales (-1.6 per cent), and Queensland (-1.6 per cent). The largest rises were in the Northern Territory (+6.1 per cent), Western Australia (+3.1 per cent) and Victoria (+1.1 per cent).
Figures released today also include updated expectations of planned capex for the financial year. Businesses revised up their expected capex spend by 3.2 per cent (in current prices) since the last estimate three months ago.
This release also publishes the first estimate for planned capex for 2025-26, which was up 1.8 per cent on the first estimate for 2024-25.
