Booming City of Canning economy drives recovery

|CANNING is a surprising financial powerhouse, helping to drive the state’s economic recovery.

The City is the third largest economy in the metropolitan area, behind just the cities of Perth and Stirling, and fourth largest in the state, according to National Institute of Economic and Industry Research figures.

It generated a gross regional product of $11,388 million in 2017-18, trailing the City of Stirling ($13,257m), Shire of Ashburton ($17,15m) and City of Perth ($38,195m).

There are 8572 registered businesses in the local area, up 234 on last year, led by construction; transport, postal and warehousing; professional, scientific and technical services; real estate services; and financial services.

More than 71,000 people are employed across all industries, led by 10,902 in construction and 8393 in retail.

Canning Mayor Paul Ng said underpinning the region’s financial strength was “phenomenal growth” in freight and logistics.

“Approximately 60 per cent of all imported containers are unpacked in the Canning region, with 40 per cent in Canning Vale and 20 per cent in Welshpool,” he said. “Over the past five years, we have seen a 77 per cent increase in freight and logistics industry businesses in Canning Vale and a 43 per cent increase in Welshpool.”

Freight and Logistics Council chairwoman Nicole Lockwood said the industry would continue to drive economic growth in future and it was important to plan ahead.

“To protect that growth, we need a corridor that allows transport to move unencumbered without going into residential areas and causing disruptions to locals,” she said.

“The City of Canning has been very proactive but we need to continue to set aside land as the metropolitan area grows; new industrial areas in Kenwick will be critical to growth.”

Mrs Lockwood said the council did not have a position on the Roe Highway extension abandoned by the current government but it was focused on the broader transport network.

“We need to look at the transport network as a whole and focus on improved connections to maintain efficiency into the future,” she said.

Other significant drivers of the economy include Market City in Canning Vale – which trades over $638m of fresh produce annually and provides more than 81,000sq m of industrial land – and Westfield Carousel, which recently completed its expansion to 110,000sq m of retail space.