What is the difference in annual freight transport between Australia and Japan?

56,459 Tonnes-kilometres, with Japan ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and Japan?

51 years are reported by both, from 1971 to 2021.

Where does this data come from?

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Annual freight transport. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Australia vs Japan: Annual freight transport

Australia

96,600 Tonnes-kilometres

in 2021

Japan

153,059 Tonnes-kilometres

in 2024

Australia rank

4th

Japan rank

3rd

Annual freight transport over time

Australia
Japan

How they compare

Japan currently reports 153,059 Tonnes-kilometres against 96,600 Tonnes-kilometres in Australia, a difference of 56,459 Tonnes-kilometres.

That makes Japan's figure about 1.6 times Australia's.

Across all 51 years both countries report, Japan has been ahead every year.

Australia ranks 4th and Japan ranks 3rd of 21 countries.

Japan has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Australia	Japan	Difference	Ahead
1970s	95,411 Tonnes-kilometres	194,545 Tonnes-kilometres	99,134 Tonnes-kilometres	Japan
1980s	96,600 Tonnes-kilometres	208,069 Tonnes-kilometres	111,469 Tonnes-kilometres	Japan
1990s	103,278 Tonnes-kilometres	238,633 Tonnes-kilometres	135,355 Tonnes-kilometres	Japan
2000s	115,133 Tonnes-kilometres	213,629 Tonnes-kilometres	98,496 Tonnes-kilometres	Japan
2010s	109,280 Tonnes-kilometres	179,109 Tonnes-kilometres	69,829 Tonnes-kilometres	Japan
2020s	102,750 Tonnes-kilometres	157,810 Tonnes-kilometres	55,060 Tonnes-kilometres	Japan

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher annual freight transport, Australia or Japan?: Japan, at 153,059 Tonnes-kilometres against 96,600 Tonnes-kilometres in Australia as of 2024.
What is the difference in annual freight transport between Australia and Japan?: 56,459 Tonnes-kilometres, with Japan ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and Japan?: 51 years are reported by both, from 1971 to 2021.
How do Australia and Japan rank globally for annual freight transport?: Australia ranks 4th and Japan ranks 3rd of 21 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Annual freight transport. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Australia vs Japan: Annual freight transport. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/annual-freight-transport/australia/japan/

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About this data

Indicator: Annual freight transport
Unit: Tonnes-kilometres
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence: OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage: 25 places, 933 data points, 1970–2024
Last refreshed: 20 August 2026

Freight transport by rail, road, inland waterways and pipeline.