Market proximity

Strategically located within the Perth Metropolitan Area, with established freight infrastructure providing an efficient pathway to market for industries operating in the Western Trade Coast.

The Western Trade Coast is strategically located within the Perth Metropolitan Area, which is Australia’s western gateway to the global economy. The established freight infrastructure in the Western Trade Coast provides an efficient pathway to market for industries operating in the Western Trade Coast.

The Western Trade Coast is well-serviced by a number of bulk port terminals; is in close proximity to Western Australia’s primary container port at Fremantle, and has also been earmarked through the Westport Program as the location for the State’s future container port. Each year, industries operating in the Western Trade Coast export billions of dollars in industrial products to markets around the world. While the industrial synergies that exist in the Western Trade Coast ensure that supplies of key inputs can be sourced locally, a number of industries need these ports to import key products.

Industries within the Western Trade Coast are also strategically located to serve Western Australia’s key industries, including chemicals for the resources industry, fertilisers for the agriculture industry, and critical material inputs for the local construction industry. The Western Trade Coast is connected to key road and freight routes that allow for the efficient transportation of products across Western Australia and to the east coast of Australia.

The Australian Marine Complex is one of only two naval shipbuilding hubs in Australia, and the only one which is strategically located on the Indian Ocean Rim. The Australian Marine Complex, and the broader Henderson region’s proximity to HMAS Stirling (on Garden Island), have been earmarked by defence authorities to play a critical role in Australia’s future defence posture.

The next section of this report provides an overview of the value that is generated from the Western Trade Coast, and the key markets that industries serve across the globe.