Operating survey on short sea and domestic sea transport (discontinued), 1999

National level.

No frequency. The survey is a one time event.

Timeliness: Data pertains to the statistical year of 2006.

Not relevant

Primary data and information on sample units and population are stored temporarily in the programming language SAS, and stored permanently as text-files.

The survey’s objective is to describe the activity within short sea and domstic sea transport with Norwegian registrered enterprises. The last survey that analysed this type of activity was made in 1999 and has been the only source of operational data available.

Users include public and private sector agencies, private organizations, individuals and organizations such as the Norwegian Coastal Administration and other divisions of Statistics Norway. In addition to the tables included in this publication, a number of other or more detailed tables can be commissioned from Statistics Norway.

The survey is based on the same population and sample as that of structural busienss statistics. Estimation method and some of the variable definitions are different.

Statistics Act Sections 2-2 and 2-3.

Not relevant

The population in this survey is the same as for structural business statistics. The structural statistics for water transport are organized according to the NACE-standard (see section 4.3) and include the following industry division:

61.1 Water transport

The structural business statistics for the water transport industry comprise most of the enterprises and local kind-of-activity (KAU) units registered, provided that the enterprise or local KAU is registered with activity in Norway in the relevant statistical year.

The exception is enterprises and local KAUs within public service sectors 110, 510 and 550. Such units are not included in the structural business statistics for land transport even if they should happen to be involved in the abovementioned industry.

However, all other enterprises and local KAUs in the state sector or state-owned enterprises, i.e. units with sector codes 610, 630, 635, 660 and 680, are included in the statistics if they are active in the industry.

For a sample of the enterprises in the population, the statistics are based on tax returns and a supplementary questionnaire. The questionnaire for the structural business statistics was expanded to sample operational data otherwise not collected in the survey. The tax returns are either enclosed with the questionnaires or submitted electronically via the Directorate of Taxes.

Financial statements and number of employees for enterprises with only one local KAU outside the sample is obtained from the Register of Company Accounts, the VAT Register and/or the Registrar of Employees and Employers (AA-Register).

The Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises is used to obtain necessary information about the population. The VAT Register, the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities, information from trade organisations and direct input from the enterprises are used to update the Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises.

Other complimentary sources used are Maritime transport statistics at Statistics Norway, Yearbook of Scandinavian Shipowners, Fraktefartøyenes Rederiforening (Association of Cargo Freighters), Rederienes Landsforbund (Federation of Norwegian Coastal Shipping) og Norsk Ordinært Skipsregister (Norwegian Ship Register - NOR).

The sample is the same as in structural business statistics. The population consists of all active enterprises in the relevant industry in the statistical year. The population is divided into subpopulations, called strata, according to criteria such as industrial classification and number of employees. In some strata all enterprises are included in the sample. In the remaining strata, a representative selection of enterprises is drawn. All enterprises in this sample are asked to report a full set of tax returns and to complete a questionnaire.

The detailed financial data from the sample are combined with additional information from the various registers and Statistics Norway's structural survey. This is the basis for the estimation of the economic and financial structure of the different industries of the transport and tourism sector and makes up the final figures reported.

The questionnaires are sent out during April in the year following the statistical year, with a response deadline of three or four weeks. Enterprises that do not respond to the first letter are sent reminders for approximately six months from the first deadline.

Revisions and corrections of the information obtained from the sample population and the structural survey are carried out routinely. The revision of industry codes, employment, turnover, wage costs, other operating costs, operating result, investments and cost of goods sold is particularly important. In this survey a central part of the controls centered around accounting for all income and costs and further to classify these by type.

Reported operational and financial data is checked against data found in tax returns and financial statments. When large disceprancies are found the enterprise is contacted directly

Estimation of the population’s financial data is, in broad terms, done by applying the sample’s reported relative distribution of income and costs on total income and costs from the non-sample population. Total income and costs are collected from tax returns. In some industry sub classes a large share of activity takes place outside of what we consider short sea and domestic sea trade. In these industry sub classes the share of short sea and domestic sea trade is estimated through data given in the questionnaire.

Estimation of the population’s non-financial operational data is done by using the rate of ships in the population to the sample. Population numbers on ships is collected from a variety of data sources. See the paragraph on data sources.

Not relevant

Last survey of comparable content and scope was done in 1999 and was called ´´Vessels in coastal trade for hire or reward and on own account´´. This survey included only a few of the variables contained in this new survey. The common variables are average operating days, number of ships, and transported cargo &– all by group of vessels.