The transport industry is one of the slowest to adopt new information technologies in its business practices, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

In the latest ABS report, Summary of IT Use and Innovation in Australian Business, 2011-12, the industry, measured as “transport, postal and warehousing”, fell behind the average for use of a variety of IT functions.

Industry firms do not appear to place priority on the internet, with less than 20 per cent of operators upholding a strong online presence, just 39 per cent processed online orders. The ABS notes that size matters in IT take-up, as firms with 0-4 employees dwarfed in percentage terms by the next measure, 5-19, which was, in turn, behind those with 20-199 and those with 200 or more.

The transport and logistics industry may also have some work to do on the innovative practices scale, where it placed dead last, rated least likely to undertake innovative activity.