Content
About the statistics
Definitions
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Name and topic
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Name: Transport and storage, structural business statistics
Topic: Transport and tourism
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Responsible division
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Division for Structural Business Statistics
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Definitions of the main concepts and variables
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Enterprise
In the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) an enterprise is the smallest combination of legal entities that is an organizational unit producing goods or services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision making.
Local kind-of-activity unit (local KAU)
SIC defines a local KAU as a functional unit, which at a single physical location is engaged primarily in activities within a specific activity group.
Location
Location is in accordance with municipal borders dated from the 1 st of January 2005. In some industry divisions an enterprise can do business in several municipalities and counties without being divided into several KAUs. In such cases the enterprise's combined operations are registered where the enterprise has its office address.
Owners without regular pay who work for the enterprise on a daily basis
Owners include owners of sole proprietorships, or general partnerships, and family members who work for the enterprise on a daily basis without receiving regular wages. Co-owners of limited companies and cooperatives who are paid for working for the enterprise are not included, nor are family members of owners of sole proprietorships or general partnerships when they receive regular wages.
Employees
An employee is a person who works for an employer and receives compensation in the form of wages, pay, fee, bonuses, payment in kind etc. The number of employees in the structural business statistics shows an average of the number that has been employed throughout the year. From 2015, the employment figures are obtained from the A-ordningen.
Temporary staff from employment agencies are not included in the employment figures.
Employment
Employment is the sum of owners and employees working in the unit. The employment statistics show the average number of persons employed during the year. From 2015, the employment figures are obtained from the A-ordningen, which replaced the AA-Registeret. Thus, the figures are not comparable with the previous years.
Employees are defined as part-time if they work less than 30 hours per week.
Man-years
The figures include the number of man-years worked by employees in an enterprise.
Turnover/sales
Turnover is defined as the sum of remuneration for rendering of services to customers and sales of merchandise, and gross income from other activities. Rental income, commissions and special taxes are included, while subsidies and profits from sales of business assets are not. VAT is not included in the statistics.
Merchandise
Merchandise is goods bought and resold with no added value.
Compensation of employees
Compensation of employees includes wages, holiday pay, fees, etc., employer's national insurance contribution, reportable pension costs and other personnel costs. Compensation of employees does not include remuneration to owners of sole proprietorships or partnerships or to family members without regular wages.
Production value
Production value means sales corrected for changes in stocks of finished goods, work in progress, and goods and services purchased for resale. Purchases of goods and services for resale are deducted, while capitalized own investment work is added.
Value added
Value added is figured as the sum of production value less the purchase of goods and services (for other goods and services than those purchased for resale) and special public taxes, and corrected for changes in stocks of raw materials and consumer goods. Special public subsidies for manufactured/sold merchandise and other public subsidies/reimbursements are included.
Gross investments
Gross investments are the total value of new capital goods such as buildings and plant, machinery, tools, implements, software, vehicles (except for personal use), both new and used. Improvements are added while sales of used capital stock are deducted. Investment figures are minus incoming value added tax.
Acquisitions
This includes investments in new assets and improvements of own assets.
New investments include all newly acquired fixed assets acquired and completed in the course of the year, excluding investments in unimproved property. In assessing the value of the business asset, cost price is used for purchases and production cost for own manufactures. Acquisitions through financial leasing are included when the asset is entered as an asset in the balance sheet.
Improvement of own assets includes the value of all capitalized improvements and major repairs purchased and executed by others and/or undertaken by own employees on own business assets. A precondition is that such improvements increase the efficiency/value of and/or prolong the lifetime of the business asset. The improvement is estimated at purchase price at time of purchase or at production cost when it is manufactured.
Sale of business assets
Sale of business assets is estimated at the sales value (replacement value) upon realization of used business assets over the course of the year. The amount includes investment tax. The business asset is regarded as sold when it is delivered.
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Standard classifications
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The Standard Industrial Classification ( SN2007 ) used in Statistics Norway is based on the EU´s NACE-standard.
Earlier time series with figures up to 2007 are published according to SN2002 (based on EU's NACE Rev.1.).
Administrative information
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Regional level
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National level. Region and county level for some of the main variables.
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Frequency and timeliness
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Frequency: Annual
Timeliness: Data pertains to the statistical year of 2016. Final figures are normally published 17 months after the last month of the statistical year. Preliminary figures on employment and turnover are published 10 months after the last month of the statistical year.
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International reporting
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The statistics are reported to EUROSTAT.
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Microdata
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Primary data and the compiled statistics are stored temporarily in the programming language SAS, and stored permanently as text-files.
Background
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Background and purpose
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The structural business statistics for transportation and storage are a part of the industrial statistics of Statistics Norway, and present detailed information about the activities in this sector on the basis of financial information. Transportation and storage is classified under industry section H: Transportation and storage.
The statistics are compiled in accordance with the EU regulation on structural business statistics, and were first published for parts of the sector in 1998. Since 1999 final results have been published on both the enterprise level and the local kind-of-activity unit (local KAU) level.
Preliminary figures for turnover and employment on the enterprise level were published for the first time for 2001, in accordance with the EU regulation.
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Users and applications
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Users include public and private sector agencies, private organizations, individuals and international organizations such as EUROSTAT, as well as the National Accounts and other divisions of Statistics Norway.
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Equal treatment of users
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No external users have access to the statistics and analyses before they are published and accessible simultaneously for all users on ssb.no at 8 am. Prior to this, a minimum of three months' advance notice is given in the Statistics Release Calendar
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Coherence with other statistics
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The structural business statistics for transportation and storage are adapted to the EU regulation on structural business statistics, in the same way as the structural business statistics for wholesale and retail trade, business activities and construction that are also compiled by Statistics Norway.
When making comparisons with other statistics for employment, for instance the labour force survey at Statistics Norway or statistics based on the Register of Employees and Employers, it must be kept in mind that definitions and methodology varies between the statistics. The structural business statistics are compiled according to definitions given by the EU regulation on structural business statistics (see section 4.2).
The structural business statistics are used as a base when making the National accounts.
See accounts statistics for information about non-financial limited companies in the information sector
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Legal authority
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The Statistics Act, Sections 2-2 and 2-3
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EEA reference
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Regulation 295/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning structural business statistics amended by Regulation 251/2009, 517/2013 and 446/2014
Production
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Population
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The structural business statistics for Transportation and storage are organized according to the NACE-standard (see section 4.3) and include the following industry divisions:
49 Land transport (except of 49.5 and 52.215 Transport via pipelines).
50 Water transport.
51 Air transport.
52 Supporting and auxiliary transport activities
53 Post and telecommunications
The structural business statistics comprise most of the enterprises which are registered in the abovementioned industry divisions, as long as the enterprise was registered with activity in Norway in the relevant statistical year.
The exception is enterprises within the public service sectors 6100 and 6500. Such units are not included in the structural business statistics for construction even though they should happen to have operations in the abovementioned industry.
However, all other enterprises in the public sector or owned by the public sector, i.e. units with sector codes 1110, 1120, 1510 og 1520, are included in the statistics if they have activity in the abovementioned industry. Sectorcode
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Data sources and sampling
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For a sample of enterprises in the population, including all enterprises with more than one local kind-of-activity unit (local KAU), the statistics are based on Trading Statements (NO) and a supplementary questionnaire. The Trading Statements are either attached to the questionnaires or submitted electronically via the Norwegian Internal Revenue Service.
Information, like the accounts and turnover, about the enterprises with only one local KAU outside the sample is obtained from the following sources:
- trading statements (NO) electronically submitted via the Norwegian Internal Revenue Service
- the Register of Annual Company Reports in Brønnøysund
- the VAT Register
Starting with the reference year 2004, employment figures for enterprises included in the sample are collected from the Register of Employees and Employers (the Aa-register).
The Register of Establishments and Enterprises at Statistics Norway is used to obtain necessary information about the population. The VAT Register, the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities, information from trade organizations and direct input from the enterprises are used to update the Register of Establishments and Enterprises.
Starting with the year 2008, figures for gross investments are collected from the Write-off blankett RF 1048B from the tax authority.
The population consists of all enterprises in the relevant industry divisions with registered activity in the reference year. The population is divided into subpopulations, called strata, after criteria like industrial classification and number of employees. In some of the strata, all enterprises are always included in the sample. From the remaining strata, a representative selection of enterprises is drawn. All enterprises in this sample are asked to report a full set of Trading Statements and to complete a questionnaire.
This detailed survey of accounting data is combined with the additional information from the various registers and the structural survey of Statistics Norway to form the basis for the estimation of the financial structures of the different industries.
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Collection of data, editing and estimations
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A complete set of statements (NO with supplementary forms) is obtained from a sample of enterprises.
The supplementary forms are collected by postal questionnaires, and it is possible to report data on the Internet. The questionnaires are sent out in April/May after the end of the statistical year, with a response deadline of four or five weeks. Enterprises which do not respond on the first letter will be given reminders within further six months from the first deadline.
For other enterprises, sales figures and other essential accounting data are obtained from Trading Statements (NO) submitted electronically via the Norwegian Internal Revenue Service or from annual accounts in the Register of Annual Company Reports in Brønnøysund. Sales figures are furthermore obtained from enterprises in the "VAT Register".
Editing and corrections are carried out on the information obtained from the sample population and structural survey. The raw data are checked against reports from the last year, the Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises, the Register of Annual Company Reports in Brønnøysund and other available sources, and by contacting the respondents if necessary.
No variables are estimated for enterprises having a complete NO with supplementary form. For these enterprises the information from the forms is used.
For enterprises outside the sample which submit Trading Statements electronically, only data for supplementary forms are estimated. Existing data from the annual accounts are used then according to the Register of Annual Company Accounts and are split up into respective sub-items according to the relative shares shown in the data from the NO sample. Thus, data from the Structural Survey and "VAT Register" are taken into account in the statistical calculation. Turnover and employment are considered as known variables for all enterprises and are therefore used as a basis for computing missing variables. Previously an industry's mean based on sample units was used to estimate missing data for non-sample unit similar (ratio estimates). As of the statistical year 2011 the method is based on finding a sample unit similar to the non-sample unit to be estimated, based on set of criteria, and using the sample-unit to estimate the missing values (nearest neighbour estimation). The nearest neighbour criterion is industry combined with the turnover/employment ratio, in that order.
The other items are estimated according to the division in the sample (organized by subclass and same size groups with respect to turnover, operating expenditure or other relevant distribution keys).
Enterprises with sales according to the VAT Register or Structural Survey
The NO items are estimated with sales as a key for the enterprises outside the sample where sales are obtained from the "VAT Register" or from the Structural Survey.
Employment figures
Employment figures for the enterprises are mainly obtained from the Register of Employees and Employers (the Aa-Register), but some are estimated on the basis of the enterprises’ wage costs or turnover. The Employment figures are revised, based on information from other sources, before dissemination.
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Seasonal adjustment
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Not relevant
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Confidentiality
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If less than three enterprises/ local KAU's represent a statistical variable, no economic variables are published. The reason is the risk that units can be identified. This is especially critical when regional data are published.
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Comparability over time and space
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Preliminary figures are published while data are still under revision, and may therefore deviate from the final figures which are published within 17 months of the end of the reference year. Preliminary data for enterprises in the sample which have not yet responded at the time of publishing are estimated by using of other sources.
Generally, when making comparisons with previously published figures, it must be kept in mind that older data may have been corrected during later revisions. Updating of industries in the Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises may also cause revisions for some of the industries. These changes are not dated back.
Until 2003, enterprises in the sample reported employment figures via postal questionnaires. Starting with the reference year 2004, employment figures for enterprises included in the sample are collected tfrom the Register of Employees and Employers (the Aa-register).
The method of calculation of owners has been changed from 2005. Until 2005, for enterprises which were not limited companies (i.e. general partnerships, sole proprietorships and general partnerships with shared liability), and had a turnover between NOK 11 000 and 100 000, one owner was estimated for the enterprise. From 2005 no owners are estimated for enterprises with a turnover less than NOK 150 000.
In previous years gross investments were calculated from enterprises in the sample to the entire population. Starting with the year 2008, figures for gross investments are collected from the Write-off blankett RF 1048B from the tax authority. This source provides more correct figures for gross investments.
The Standard Industrial Classification 2002 (SIC2002) was used including the reference year 2007. From the reference year 2008, The Standard Industrial Classification 2007 (SIC2007) is employed. This means that not all industries are comparable backwards. Earlier time series with figures up to 2007 are published according to SN2002 (based on EU's NACE Rev.1.). Many of the industries which according to the new industrial standard (SN2007) constitute can be retrieved in StatBank in accordance to the previous standard. See Transport and tourism .
Accuracy and reliability
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Sources of error and uncertainty
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The results of a statistical survey will as a rule contain some measurement and processing errors. Measurement errors occur when the provider of the data gives erroneous answers due to forgetfulness, misunderstanding of the question etc.
Processing errors are errors from coding or errors that occur during the transferring of information from the questionnaire to the machine-readable medium or during revision.
Non-response will always be a factor in form-based surveys. This is because some respondents either do not return their forms or return them incompletely filled out. In the structural business statistics, non-respondent enterprises are treated the same way as enterprises outside the sample population.
Sampling errors is the uncertainty that occurs when the figures are produced on the basis of a sample of data, and not the whole population. The sampling error is the expected deviation between the result of the sample and the result if the whole population were examined.
Imbalances in the sample (e.g. misleading stratification) can cause errors for the variables for which information has not been obtained for all units in the population. Statistics Norway assumes explicitly by the imputation that enterprises outside the sample have the same cost and income structure as enterprises in the sample.
The variables in the preliminary figures (number of enterprises, employment and turnover) are based on a full census, and sampling errors are not relevant for these variables.
In the structural business statistics, the Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises, the Register of Annual Company Reports in Brønnøysund, the VAT Register and the Register of Employees and Employers (A-Ordningen) are used in order to define the population and help collect the necessary data.
Errors in these administrative registers - like time gaps in registration, incorrectly identified unit characteristics etc. may therefore be a potential source of uncertainty in the statistics and may for instance have an impact when dividing the population into adequate strata.
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Revision
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Transport and storage, structural business statistics are published annually.
Preliminary figures are normally published about ten months after the end of the statistical year. This publication includes number of enterprises, turnover and employment for enterprises only.
Final figures produced after revision of the preliminary figures are normally published sixteen to seventeen months after the end of the statistical year. More variables are included in this statistics. Figures for both enterprises and local kind of activities are presented.
The statistics is now published as Business statistics.