Gross domestic product (GDP) for mainland Norway grew by 0.9 per cent in the 3rd quarter, compared to an increase of 0.5 per cent in the two previous quarters. The growth was led by increased final consumption expenditure by households and general government as well as increased exports excluding crude oil and natural gas.

Seasonally-adjusted figures for the total GDP show a drop of 1.6 per cent. The drop stems from a substantial slowdown in oil and gas extraction due to planned maintenance on several oil fields in the 3rd quarter.

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“In Norway, inflation is low and somewhat below the central bank’s target of 2.5 per cent. Activity is increasing in the Norwegian economy, although there is still some margin of spare capacity. Interest rates in other countries are low. On balance, these factors suggest that the interest rate should be kept unchanged at 2 per cent”, Deputy Governor Jan F. Qvigstad said yesterday.

The first half of the year showed an increase in trade among Norway’s partners, growth in the Asian market and small signs of recovery of the euro zone.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, US growth prospects have been lower than expected.

Overall, the markets are still uncertain, even though they indicated more stability during the summer compared to Q1.

The bank also took into consideration Norwegian household debt has not risen because of the low interest. The rise in house prices has also been moderate.

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The mainstay of Norway’s economy has long been its gas and petroleum exports. In other words, it is dependent on international freight export of products responsible for hydrocarbon pollution.

But ironically for a country that exports oil, Norway is passionate about green issues and is one of the global leaders on the climate change agenda. 99% of Norway’s own electricity comes from hydroelectric plants and it was one of the very first countries to adopt a carbon tax. The government has pledged to make the country carbon neutral by 2030, bringing that target date forward from its initial date of 2050. This is an issue that is making shipping companies and others in the freight services industry sit up and pay close attention as actions arising to deliver this strategy are likely to lead to significant changes to the transport infrastructure in Norway, petrol taxes and other related issues that have a direct impact on a freight company or a shipping company.

Of course, when Norway says it wants to be carbon neutral, it is referring only to its domestic usage. As the world’s fourth largest exporter of oil and third largest exporter of gas, when these exports from Norway are burned overseas, they will be making a huge number of carbon emissions.

Because the green lobby is so strong and green issues are so fiercely debated and seen to be so important by the Norwegian population, there have been a number of initiatives designed to reduce carbon emissions. This includes promotion of biomass for power for homes and businesses, instead of fossil fuels. They also include high taxes on petrol and cars and the development of an extensive public transport system, with effective train systems between the cities and efficient ferry networks along the coast and along the waterways.

Although there has been a proliferation of cycle tracks, there has meanwhile been less investment in roads as the government focuses on reducing road traffic. In fact, the government has even promised to double funding for public transport for cities that pledge to get more cars off the roads. They are also setting up an agency to investigate ways to reduce carbon emissions from transport. The impact on the freight services industry has been that it has had to adapt swiftly to the many changes brought about to reduce carbon emissions. For example, more use is now made of the public transport networks by the freight services sector and there is less use of freight forwarding by road as a proportion of the whole than in many other countries.

The government has even carried out detailed studies into whether bridges or tunnels to cross fjords are better for the environment and have now made it official policy to favour bridges as cars and lorries use less petrol on them than they do if they had to descend into and climb out of a tunnel. On mountains, however, tunnels have been deemed to be more environmentally friendly than roads, as in relation to mountains, tunnels lead to less petrol consumption compared to roads.

Overall, the impact of the green agenda on the freight services industry in Norway is positive. The freight transport industry benefits from the intense government scrutiny of the country’s transport network and transport related issues. The drive is towards greater efficiency and of course freight forwarding businesses and shipping companies stand to benefit from these.

One thing is certain – as the government in Norway continue to be at the leading edge in exploring new technologies such as electric transport, shipping companies and the freight transport sector will be the first to exploit the new developments, becoming still more streamlined and efficient than they already are.

So over the last decade, Norway has faced the challenge and begun a process of reshaping its economy by diversifying into new sectors so it can prosper after petroleum revenues decrease. This includes government support to create a competitive private sector with strengths in IT and technology. Norway is now encouraging the growth of small businesses and encouraging new private sector industry in a number of ways. By doing so, it is following the approach earlier adopted successfully by its neighbours Sweden and Finland.

Norway is fortunate in that is in a strong economic position and is one of the world’s richest countries per head. Norway has large foreign trade surpluses due to the high cost of oil in recent times. This is enabling the government to invest in developing new industries to support its strategy of diversification.

The Norwegian government is thus able to help support the freight services sector as it faces the challenge of adapting to new conditions.

One of the private sector industries that is robust and growing in Norway in shipping. Shipping companies originally developed in Norway to serve the offshore petrolem industry and have now achieved a dominant market position. In fact, the shipping fleet in Norway is one of the most modern in the world.

Shipping and freight services has therefore been identified as an industry to be further developed and strengthened in future, as a key part of the Norwegian economy.

As shipping companies face the new challenges, the sector is showing innovation as shipping companies identify and seize new opportunities that are relevant for the post petroleum era.

Norway, like its neighbour Finland, has a significant role to play in serving the Baltic region. Although the global economic crisis is having a negative impact on freight forwarding in many countries worldwide, international freight to and from the Baltics remains a growth area. The majority of shipping companies and economic commentators are expecting growth in the Baltic region to continue to be strong in the next few years. This will strengthen the freight services sector in those countries like Norway and Finland on which freight transport to the Baltic region depends.

The Baltic Region is now a main trading area for the freight forwarding and shipping company industry based in Bergen. They offer a frequent service to the Baltic Region, mainly with its fleet of side door vessels.The main item requiring freight transport is frozen fish from Norway, Scotland and Iceland. This is transported to many destinations in the Baltic Region. This is an expanding market, with an increasing demand for fish products as the buying power of customers increases in the countries that make up the Baltic Region.

In ways such as these, shipping companies in Norway are showing that they can identify and seize the new opportunities created by changing market conditions. This means that the freight forwarding and international freight industry in Norway face a bright future as they rise to the challenge of responding to change.