External trade in services, Q3 2014

Non-financial enterprises, including the shipping industry, exported services for more than NOK 52 billion in the 3rd quarter of 2014. This was an increase of 5.4 per cent compared to the 3rd quarter of 2013, but a small decline of less than 1 per cent from the 2nd quarter of 2014. The deficit in the trade in services balance was the largest deficit since the 3rd quarter of 2012.

Services related to oil and gas exploration make up largest import group

In the 3rd quarter of 2014, imported services related to oil and gas exploration, excluding surveying, totalled approximately NOK 12 billion, which was 22.4 per cent of the total import of services. The import of business services came to NOK 11 billion in the same period, which was an increase of almost NOK 3 billion from the previous quarter.

Services related to sea and coastal water transport once again made up Norway’s largest service export group, amounting to 38.6 per cent of the total export value. The total export value for such services was over NOK 20 billion in the 3rd quarter of 2014, virtually unchanged from the previous quarter, but an increase of over NOK 2 billion from the corresponding quarter last year.

Mining and quarrying make up largest import industry

The enterprises within the mining and quarrying sector were the largest contributors to the total imports of services in the 3rd quarter. The imports of this industry amounted to about NOK 14 billion, which constituted a share of 26 per cent of the total imports. The industry transportation and storage represented a share in value of 24.4 per cent. The third largest industry was professional, scientific and technical activities, which increased by 40.4 per cent from the corresponding quarter last year, and came to over NOK 5 billion.

On the exports side, the transportation and storage industry remains the largest, amounting to 50.6 per cent of total service exports in the 3rd quarter of 2014. This was over NOK 26 billion, an increase of 16.4 per cent from the same quarter in 2013, and 2 per cent from the previous quarter. Professional, scientific and technical activities was the second largest group and increased by 5.9 per cent in value from the 3rd quarter in 2013 to NOK 7 billion this quarter.

Increase in imports from the Nordic countries

The Norwegian service imports from the Nordic countries increased from the 3rd quarter of 2013 to the 3rd quarter of 2014, by over NOK 3 billion. These imports made up 25.5 per cent of total service imports, which in value corresponded to just under NOK 14 billion. Imports from the non-Nordic EU countries increased somewhat in the same period, from over NOK 20 billion in the third quarter of 2013 to about NOK 23 billion in the 3rd quarter of 2014.

The non-Nordic EU countries also constituted the largest market for exports of services, with over NOK 16 billion exported in the 3rd quarter of 2014, which corresponds to 30.7 per cent of total service exports. The export of services to Asia is greater than that to the Nordic countries, with NOK 9 billion versus NOK 7 billion. About 17.5 per cent of all service exports go to Asia.