13069_om_not-searchable
/en/priser-og-prisindekser/statistikker/stpi/kvartal
13069_om
statistikk
2009-03-13T10:00:00.000Z
Prices and price indices;Transport and tourism
en
true

Price index for sea transport, Q4 2008

Content

About the statistics

Definitions

Name and topic

Name: Price index for sea transport
Topic: Prices and price indices

Responsible division

Transport, Tourism and ICT Statistics

Definitions of the main concepts and variables

The prices measured in this index is of three different types. The prices received from the questionnaire is a contract price for a transport service or a rental agreement. Prices reported in NOK (Norwegian kroner) are stated exclusive VAT. The prices collected from the Internet are prices on repeated services, while the prices from the market reports are more like expert estimates of the price development for specific vessel types.

Standard classifications

The index is made up by different sub-indices based on types of cargo transported. The sub-indices are: Cars and vehicles, Shuttle (crude oil) and oil products, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Other gas, Chemicals and other liquid bulk, Frozen and refrigerated goods, General cargo and other goods, Wooden products, paper and cellulose products, Transport services, Containers, Offshore supply and Passengers.

The Standard Industrial Classification (SN 2002) is used for classification of enterprises within sea and coastal water transport NACE 61.1. The price observations are grouped in NACE 61.101 Ocean transport, 61.103 Domestic freight transport, 61.104 Scheduled long distance inland transport in coastal waters, 61.106 Tugs and supply vessels and 61.109 Other coastal water transport in Norway. NACE 61.109 is currently to small to be included in the statistics.

For each price reported there is information on which vessel type that carry out the transport. The following vessel types are included in the data collection:

Bulk vessel, Open hatch vessel (forest products), Combination carrier, Well boat, Refrigerated cargo vessel, General cargo vessel, LNG vessel, LPG vessel, Car/vehicle carrier, Offshore service vessel, Offshore supply vessel, Shuttle tanker, Chemicals tanker, Crude oil tanker, Product tanker, Other tanker, Container carrier, Ro-Ro-Passenger carrier, Ro-Ro-Freight vessel, Multipurpose/Specialized vessel and Tug.

Administrative information

Regional level

National

Frequency and timeliness

Frequency: quarterly.

Timeliness: The Statistics is published before 3 months after the end of the period.

International reporting

Part of the Norwegian National Accounts reporting to Eurostat

Microdata

Data are stored as text files on UNIX..

Background

Background and purpose

The purpose of the index is to measure the development in prices for sea and coastal water transport. The statistics was published for the first time in 2007, with figures from the 1st quarter of 2006.

Users and applications

The index is used to analyse and survey the development in prices and costs, and in the National accounts. Others with a interest in the market for freight and passenger transport also use it, for example institutions within research and development and the media.

Coherence with other statistics

The index is used in National Accounts. The Consumer Price Index has a sub index on passenger transport by sea.

Legal authority

The Statistics Act, Sections 2-1, 2-2 and 2-3

EEA reference

Regulation (EC) No 1158/2005 of the European Parliament and the Council of July 6 2005 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1165/98 concerning short-term statistics.

Production

Population

The population is all businesses in Norway classified as sea and coastal water transport (SN2002:61.10).

The statistical unit in the survey is enterprises.

Data sources and sampling

Statistic Norway's Business Register is used to draw the sample. Figures on the unit’s turnover are collected from the Structural Business Statistics and the Operating survey for vessels in foreign going trade.

The sample is approximately 90 enterprises.

Collection of data, editing and estimations

In addition to data collection from the Internet and from market reports the survey is based on information from a quarterly postal questionnaire sent out to enterprises in the sample. The questionnaire is posted by the end of each quarter with a three weeks deadline. Respondents that haven't returned the questionnaires by the deadline are given a postal reminder together with a two-week extension of the deadline. If the questionnaire still isn't returned the respondent is sent a final reminder with a deadline of two weeks. If the questionnaire is not returned within two weeks from the receipt of the final reminder the enterprise will receive a fine.

The questionnaire is controlled and revised both automatically and manually. The price data goes through several statistical edits to identify the most critical and unusual observations. If price changes seem unlikely large the respondents are contacted

First, an index for each weight group based on the available price relatives for that group is calculated. In total, there are 23 weight groups in which 6 groups are for prices in domestic trade, 2 groups are for prices in the offshore transport industry and the remaining is for prices in international trade. A weight group is defined by combining the industry classification code (NACE), the type of good transported and the vessel type. The micro indices are then aggregated by using different weights for each of the 23 weight groups. The weights are based on turnover and allocation of turnover by activity from the Structural business survey in 2005. A total index and subindices for each industry and type of good transported is then calculated. The index is a Laspeyre-type index where the weights are fixed for one whole year. The weights are updated the 3rd quarter each year after publishing the Operating survey for vessels in foreign going trade.

Confidentiality

The use of collected data from respondents will be in accordance with the demands made by the Data Inspectorate. The information will be stored properly and kept confidential.

Comparability over time and space

The time series started in the 1st quarter of 2006. There has not been changes in the calculation method.

Accuracy and reliability

Sources of error and uncertainty

The respondent might have completed the questionnaire incorrectly. There are mainly two sources of measurement error. The first is that the respondent states the same volume on a contract even though the volume has been changed from the previous period. Volume is stated in tonnes, litres, units or cubic feet/metres, or in number of days a vessel is hired the quarter in question. The other main measurement error is that the amount is reported with wrong number of zeros. It might also happen that the respondent renders the wrong characteristics on the contracts. In all the cases mentioned, the respondent is contacted. In general, the production system ensures that the data is controlled on both detailed and aggregated level.

Non-responses exists either when respondents do not return the questionnaire or when the questionnaire is only partially completed. About 98 per cent of the sample returns the questionnaire.

The sample covers between 60 and 90 per cent of the population in sea and coastal water transport dependent upon five digit NACE. The market reports from ship brokers contributes to a big proportion of the sample coverage since they measures price development in segments in water transport where Norwegian ship owners are considerable actors. Examples are dry bulk freight, offshore supply service and LPG freight. It is possible that the contracts obtained from market reports are not sufficiently representative for Norwegian ship owners.

Some type of cargo have a higher sample coverage than others, but the most important types of cargo have more than 90 per cent coverage measured in enterprise turnover. However, normally only three contracts on one type of cargo are reported for each enterprise. This could lead to bias errors.

The weights used in the calculations are gathered from the Structural Business Statistics for the year 2005. One source of error might be outdated weights since especially the international (ocean transport) water transport industry experiences constantly structural changes. Quarterly weights are at the moment not implemented, but we will consider to adjust the weight using price relatives data if the price development turns out to be a good estimate on the structural changes in the industry.

Model error may result in insignificant price changes. For every index number standard errors are calculated. Freight types with few observations are more likely to be insignificant.