Australian Trade Data Analysis

Author: Shayan Razavi

📖 Overview

This project analyzes Australian trade data from 1988 to 2023 using Tableau for visualization and Excel for preprocessing. The aim is to uncover key trends, patterns, and insights that inform public policy and government strategies.

🎯 Objectives

• Explore import/export trade dynamics across main categories and subcategories.
• Identify trends, growth rates, and anomalies to support actionable insights.
• Develop visually compelling and interactive dashboards for effective communication.

🛠️ Methodology

1. Data Preparation:

   • Preprocessed raw trade data in Excel to create statistical and analytical worksheets.
   • Calculated percentage shares, growth rates, and category ratios to reveal trade patterns.

2. Visualization Techniques:

   • Built interactive dashboards in Tableau with pyramid charts, stacked bar charts, and multi-line graphs.
   • Applied consistent color schemes, annotations, and reference lines for clarity.

3. Key Metrics:

   • Trends: Growth in total trade, with resource exports driving recent spikes.
   • Outliers: Impact of the Global Financial Crisis (2008) and COVID-19 pandemic (2020).
   • Category Insights: Dominance of machinery in imports and resource commodities in exports.

📊 Key Visualizations

• Pyramid Chart: Comparing total imports and exports to visualize trade balance trends.
• Multi-Line Chart: Highlighting category-specific growth rates and fluctuations over time.
• Stacked Bar Chart: Showing the proportional contribution of each category to overall trade.

🔑 Insights and Recommendations

Declining Exports

• Observation: Crude rubber exports are declining due to limited production and competition.
• Recommendation: Phase out support for low-demand exports and reallocate resources to growth sectors like critical minerals.

Import Dependency

• Observation: Machinery and transport equipment dominate imports, indicating high dependency.
• Recommendation: Develop domestic production capabilities to reduce supply chain risks.

Resource Exports

• Observation: Resources like iron ore and coal are experiencing strong global demand.
• Recommendation: Expand trade partnerships and reduce tariffs to sustain growth.

⚙️ Tools and Technologies

• Tableau: Interactive dashboards for data visualization.
• Excel: Preprocessing and statistical analysis of raw data.

🤔 Critique and Reflection

• Strengths: Tableau's interactivity facilitates dynamic exploration of data.
• Challenges: Limited customization for advanced analytics and formatting in Tableau.
• Future Improvements: Enhance dashboard design and leverage advanced extensions.

🚀 Future Work

• Explore additional sectors to identify broader trade patterns.
• Integrate external datasets to provide more comprehensive insights.
• Improve interactivity and scalability of visualizations.

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📌 Note: This project is part of an academic assessment focused on visual analytics.