Domestic transport, 2004

If the transport of oil and gas by tankers and pipeline from the Norwegian continental shelf to the Norwegian mainland are included, the quantity transported totalled 453 million tonnes and 62.4 billion tonne-kilometres. The transport of oil and gas from the North Sea comprised 47 per cent of the domestic transport performances in total measured in tonne-kilometres, but barely 24 per cent measured in tonnes in 2004.

Almost dead heat between maritime and road transport

Forty years ago the tonne-kilometres by road came to scarcely 30 per cent of the transport by sea. In the following years the growth in the transport by road was stronger, and in the mid 1990s the transport by sea was overtaken by the goods road transport. In the following five-year period the growth was quite even for both modes of transport. However, by the turn of the century, the maritime transport was again slightly higher than the transport by road. From this time on the increase has again been almost identical for both means of transport measured in tonne-kilometres. In 2004 the transport work by road and by sea totalled 15.0 billion and 16.1 billion tonne-kilometres respectively.

The average length of trip by sea is more than three times as high as the average length of trip by road. Consequently, the total tonnage of goods by road is reasonably higher compared to transport by sea. 254 million tonnes were transported by road and 85 million tonnes by sea in 2004.

After a couple of years with recession, the transport by rail could display a positive development with an increase of almost 30 per cent to more than 2 billion ton-kilometres in 2004. This can be explained by more transport of containers and of semi trailers.

A slight decrease in the transport performances for oil and gas

The statistics indicate a decrease in the transport work of scarcely 2 per cent for the total transport of oil and gas by tankers and pipeline from the Norwegian continental shelf to the Norwegian mainland in 2004. Both the oil transport by tankers and gas transport by pipeline declined, but the transport performances for the oil transport by pipeline, however, increased from 3.5 billion tonne-kilometres in 2003 to 4.7 billion in 2004.

Tables:

• Table 1 Domestic goods transport, by mode of transport. 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995 and 2000-2004