Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
The main objective of the trade in goods statistics by enterprise characteristics (TEC) is to bridge two major statistical domains which have traditionally been compiled and used separately, business statistics and international trade in goods statistics (ITGS). Specifically, this new domain was created to answer questions such as:
What kind of businesses are behind the trade flows of goods?
What is the contribution of a particular activity sector to trade?
What is the share of small and medium-sized enterprises to total trade?
What is the share of enterprises that trade with a certain partner country and the amount of trade value they account for?
For this purpose, the trade in goods between countries is broken down by economic activity, size-class of enterprises, trade concentration, geographical diversification and products traded. The new information is used to carry out more sophisticated kinds of analysis, e.g. to evaluate the role of European companies in the context of globalisation or to assess the impact of international trade in goods on employment, production and value added, essential in a globalised world where economies are increasingly interconnected.
Available datasets
TEC data are grouped into ten datasets, each one focusing on a specific aspect. Mandatory datasets 1 to 6 are available for Norway:
1. Trade by activity sector and enterprise size class — Trade by activity sector and employment size class shows the contributions of economic activities and size classes (measured in terms of number of employees) to total trade. This allows the impact of international trade on employment to be analysed and the importance of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) to be estimated.
2. Concentration of trade by activity — International trade being typically dominated by a few businesses, this indicator shows the share of the total trade accounted for by the top 5, 10, 20, etc. companies.
3. Trade by partner country and activity — Trade by partner country shows how many companies were trading with certain partner countries or country zones, and the value they accounted for. This indicator enables the most typical export or import markets to be identified.
4. Trade by number of partner countries and activity — Trade by number of partner countries shows how geographically diversified the export markets are. For imports, it shows the number of countries from which goods are imported.
5. Trade by commodity and activity — Trade by commodity and activity sector allocates the trade of each commodity to the activity of the trading enterprise. This indicator shows which sectors were involved in the trading of each product group.
6. Trade by type of trader — This indicator provides information on how traders are involved in international trade. It shows the number of companies trading within only one flow or in both flows and the trade value these companies account for.
3.2. Classification system
Classification of economic activities
Economic activities are classified according to the statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community (NACE Rev. 2). NACE Rev. 2 is based on the fourth revision of the United Nations International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC Rev. 4). Within the international trade in goods statistics, the NACE classification refers to the economic activity of enterprises that are active in international trade in goods.
Product classification
As the TEC domain aims to categorise trade flows according to economic activities, product classifications which are based on the industrial origin of the goods are more suitable for analysis than classifications based on material of goods. For this reason, the Classification of Products by Activity (CPA) is used as the product classification in TEC. CPA is a European version of the United Nations Central Product Classification (CPC), but arranged so that each product heading is assignable to a single heading of the European activity classification, the NACE Rev. 2. CPA version 2008 is used for TEC data relating to the reference years 2012-2015. CPA version 2.1 is used since 2016 as reference year.
Country classification
Except for the cases listed below, the reporting and partner countries are classified according to the Nomenclature of countries and territories for the external trade statistics of the Community and statistics of trade between Member States, known as the Geonomenclature. An alpha-2 coding applies, which means that each country is identified with a two-letter alphabetical code. See the publication Geonomenclature applicable to European statistics on international trade in goods for more information. Exceptions: code CN_X_HK instead of CN for China (except Hong Kong); code UK instead of GB for United Kingdom; code EL instead of GR for Greece.
All classifications and correspondence tables are available on Eurostats metadata server RAMON.
3.3. Coverage - sector
TEC data cover all activity sectors, from sections A to U of the NACE Rev. 2 classification.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
Trade value
The value of traded goods is calculated at the national frontier, on a FOB basis (free on board) for exports and a CIF (cost, insurance, freight) basis for imports. Hence, only incidental expenses (freight, insurance) are included and they are incurred for:
exports in the part of the journey located on the territory of the country where the goods are exported from;
imports in the part of the journey located outside the territory of the country where the goods are imported to.
Number of enterprises
The number of enterprises consists of a count of the number of enterprises involved in trade during at least a part of the reference period.
Partner country
Trade flows are broken down by partner country.
For exports it is the country of destination of the goods. That is the last country to which it is known that, at the time of export, the goods are to be delivered.
For imports, it is the country of origin of the goods.
Product
The product is the outcome of economic activity and the generic term used for goods and services.
Product classifications are designed to categorise goods and services that have common characteristics. They provide the basis for preparing statistics on the production, consumption, international trade and distributive trade. However, the scope of TEC is limited to the trade in goods.
Economic activity
The economic activity consists in offering goods and services on a given market. An activity is characterised by an input of products, a production process and an output of products. In other words, an economic activity is said to take place when resources such as equipment, labour, manufacturing techniques, information networks or products are combined, leading to the creation of specific goods or services.
Classifications of economic activities are designed to categorise data that can be related to the unit of activity. They provide the basis for preparing statistics of output, the various inputs to the production process, capital formation and the financial transactions of such units. Economic activities are classified according to NACE, the classification used to classify economic entities (enterprises, local units and similar statistical units). Within the international trade statistics, the NACE classification refers to the economic activity of traders, i.e. enterprises that are active in international trade.
Number of employees
The number of employees refers to the number of those persons who work for an employer and who have a contract of employment and receive compensation in the form of wages, salaries, fees, gratuities, piecework pay or remuneration in kind. A worker is considered to be a wage or salary earner of a particular unit if he receives a wage or salary from the unit regardless of where the work is done (in or outside the production unit).
The number of employees is a mandatory variable to be recorded in the business registers for each enterprise and local unit. According to the Business Register Regulation, the intention is to use the situation at the end of the year. However, as the end date approach is not harmonised the annual average can also be used as reference.
Type of traders
In the context of the TEC data, the type of trader specifies the type of trade activity of the enterprise. It indicates whether the enterprise is involved only in exports or only imports or trade in both flows.
The type of trader aims to describe the heterogeneity of enterprises according to their involvement in trade.
3.5. Statistical unit
The statistical unit used should be the enterprise, but Statistics Norway has used the legal unit since this is what is feasible. In most circumstances the legal unit and the enterprise is the same.
The Business Register Regulation defines the link between the legal unit and the enterprise. The same regulation also establishes a link between the business registers and the registers of intra- and extra- EU trade operators through a common unit of reference, namely the legal unit. The enterprise is the statistical unit to be used, which means that trade data must be linked to characteristics available in the Business Register for the enterprise through the legal unit. In this way, trade data are connected with the characteristics of an enterprise and they can be reported in terms of the economic activity and number of employees of the whole enterprise concerned.
3.6. Statistical population
The statistical population should comprise all the enterprises involved in trade flows. However, in practice, the linkage between the Trade Register and the Business Register is not systematically straightforward as there may be more complicated links or the linkage may not always provide expected outcomes. This relates in particular to the following cases:
Intra-annual business demography changes;
Large and complex businesses;
Incomplete business register data; and
VAT-groups.
The reference population used in the compilation of TEC datasets relates to traders who have reported trade transactions under a valid ID number and were successfully matched with the Business Register. This means that the enterprise characteristics reported in the TEC datasets refer only to a part of total trade. The following data are excluded:
Some Norwegian trade data lack an enterprise number. Most notably this concern crude oil and natural gas exports from the Norwegian continental shelf. These data are excluded from the TEC compilation. Otherwise no adjustments are done.
Trade carried out by non-resident traders and private individuals, as such traders cannot be associated to an enterprise via the national Business Register; are excluded from TEC.
3.7. Reference area
Norway
3.8. Coverage - Time
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat
From 2015 as reference year.
TEC data disseminated at national level
Data disseminated for years 2014-2015
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Trade value in thousands of euros
Number of enterprises
The reference period is the same as for monthly trade in goods statistics. It should be the calendar month of export respectively that of import of the goods. However, in practice the reference period is in general the calendar month during which the customs declaration is accepted by the national authorities.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
General statistical legislation
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European statistics
Intra-EU trade legislation (or Intrastat)
Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council
Implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 1982/2004
Extra-EU trade legislation (or Extrastat)
Regulation (EC) No 471/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council
Implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 92/2010
Implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 113/2010
Business Registers legislation
Regulation (EC) No 177/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a common framework for Business Registers for statistical purposes
Implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 192/2009
Implementing Commission Regulation (EU) No 1097/2010
All regulations relevant for the European statistics on international trade in goods can be found in the publication Legislation on European statistics on international trade in goods or consulted from the ‘Legislation’ page of the ‘International trade in goods’ section on Eurostat website. All legal texts are also accessible online on Eur-Lex.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
If one cell is suppressed, one additional cell is suppressed for each additional dimension in the table.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
One of either:
Less than three enterprises in cell.
The largest enterprise with 90 % or more of cell value.
The two largest enterprises with 95 % or more of trade.
8.1. Release calendar
TEC data disseminated at national level
No tables were published in 2020. Publications are generally preannounced minimum 3 months beforehand.
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat
See item 8.1 ‘Release calendar’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’ for more details about TEC data disseminated by Eurostat.
No tables are currently disseminated. But the plan is to update two tables in the statistical database annually.
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat
See item 8.3 ‘Release policy - user access’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
No tables are currently disseminated. Historical data are exceptionally revised.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
No press release.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
TEC data disseminated at national level
National data are as of the time not disseminated.
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat
See item 10.2 ‘Dissemination format - Publications’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
TEC data disseminated at national level
No tables are currently disseminated.
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat
See item 10.3 ‘Dissemination format - online database’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
See item 10.6 ‘Documentation on methodology’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
10.6.1. Metadata completeness - rate
100%
10.7. Quality management - documentation
TEC data disseminated at national level
Documentation is available only for internal use.
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat
See item 10.7 ‘Quality management - documentation’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
11.1. Quality assurance
See item 11.1 ‘Quality assurance’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
See item 11.2 ‘Quality management - assessment’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Requests regarding TEC-statistics has been limited.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Not yet available
12.3. Completeness
See item 12.3 ‘Completeness’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
See item 15.1 ‘Comparability - geographical’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient
Not applicable.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Figures have good comparability over time at an aggregate level. At the most detailed level some volatility must be expected.
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
From 2015 onwards.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
See item 15.3 ‘Coherence - cross domain’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
Not applicable.
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
Not applicable.
15.4. Coherence - internal
See item 15.4 ‘Coherence - internal’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
The burden for statistics Norway has been substantial regarding suppression. There are many dimensions to check and this has been challenging. We have used existing data, so there has been no additional burden incurred upon the respondents.
17.1. Data revision - policy
There are no regular revisions planned.
17.2. Data revision - practice
Revisions are not planned, unless errors are detected.
17.2.1. Data revision - average size
Not applicable.
18.1. Source data
Data has been compiled from External Trade Data (administrative data), the Business Register (administrative data) and inbound and outbound Foreign Affiliated Trade Statistics.
Trade in goods data are collected on the basis of:
Trade data are mainly collected from administrative forms in the form of customs declarations.
In addition to that data are collected directly from public administration or enterprises. This applies to exports of electric current, oil, natural gas and fish. Norway also have a survey for imports and exports of ships.
The national business registers serve as the sources for the enterprise characteristics. No samples are drawn from the registers, but the full registers are processed. Some differences in the coverage among the countries can occur. Different administrative sources depending on national law, as well as surveys, are used to update the business registers, and in some countries VAT thresholds for registration apply.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Trade data
Customs data are collected daily. Supplementary data, on oil, gas, fish and electricity are collected monthly.
Business Register
Files for the business register are updated monthly.
TEC data
Annual
18.3. Data collection
Register data collected from customs.
18.4. Data validation
Data are continuously edited for external trade purposes. Some corrections of enterprise number have been done to correct the trade among enterprises.
18.5. Data compilation
Data are compiled using different programs.
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
No imputation made by Eurostat
18.6. Adjustment
Only export of electric current is readjusted and given a new enterprise id. Otherwise no adjustment for missing, delayed and incomplete records are done.
18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment
Not applicable.
All reference documents and relevant information on TEC data can be found on the ‘Focus on enterprise characteristics (TEC)’ page of the ‘International trade in goods’ section on Eurostat website.
The main objective of the trade in goods statistics by enterprise characteristics (TEC) is to bridge two major statistical domains which have traditionally been compiled and used separately, business statistics and international trade in goods statistics (ITGS). Specifically, this new domain was created to answer questions such as:
What kind of businesses are behind the trade flows of goods?
What is the contribution of a particular activity sector to trade?
What is the share of small and medium-sized enterprises to total trade?
What is the share of enterprises that trade with a certain partner country and the amount of trade value they account for?
For this purpose, the trade in goods between countries is broken down by economic activity, size-class of enterprises, trade concentration, geographical diversification and products traded. The new information is used to carry out more sophisticated kinds of analysis, e.g. to evaluate the role of European companies in the context of globalisation or to assess the impact of international trade in goods on employment, production and value added, essential in a globalised world where economies are increasingly interconnected.
Available datasets
TEC data are grouped into ten datasets, each one focusing on a specific aspect. Mandatory datasets 1 to 6 are available for Norway:
1. Trade by activity sector and enterprise size class — Trade by activity sector and employment size class shows the contributions of economic activities and size classes (measured in terms of number of employees) to total trade. This allows the impact of international trade on employment to be analysed and the importance of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) to be estimated.
2. Concentration of trade by activity — International trade being typically dominated by a few businesses, this indicator shows the share of the total trade accounted for by the top 5, 10, 20, etc. companies.
3. Trade by partner country and activity — Trade by partner country shows how many companies were trading with certain partner countries or country zones, and the value they accounted for. This indicator enables the most typical export or import markets to be identified.
4. Trade by number of partner countries and activity — Trade by number of partner countries shows how geographically diversified the export markets are. For imports, it shows the number of countries from which goods are imported.
5. Trade by commodity and activity — Trade by commodity and activity sector allocates the trade of each commodity to the activity of the trading enterprise. This indicator shows which sectors were involved in the trading of each product group.
6. Trade by type of trader — This indicator provides information on how traders are involved in international trade. It shows the number of companies trading within only one flow or in both flows and the trade value these companies account for.
23 March 2021
Trade value
The value of traded goods is calculated at the national frontier, on a FOB basis (free on board) for exports and a CIF (cost, insurance, freight) basis for imports. Hence, only incidental expenses (freight, insurance) are included and they are incurred for:
exports in the part of the journey located on the territory of the country where the goods are exported from;
imports in the part of the journey located outside the territory of the country where the goods are imported to.
Number of enterprises
The number of enterprises consists of a count of the number of enterprises involved in trade during at least a part of the reference period.
Partner country
Trade flows are broken down by partner country.
For exports it is the country of destination of the goods. That is the last country to which it is known that, at the time of export, the goods are to be delivered.
For imports, it is the country of origin of the goods.
Product
The product is the outcome of economic activity and the generic term used for goods and services.
Product classifications are designed to categorise goods and services that have common characteristics. They provide the basis for preparing statistics on the production, consumption, international trade and distributive trade. However, the scope of TEC is limited to the trade in goods.
Economic activity
The economic activity consists in offering goods and services on a given market. An activity is characterised by an input of products, a production process and an output of products. In other words, an economic activity is said to take place when resources such as equipment, labour, manufacturing techniques, information networks or products are combined, leading to the creation of specific goods or services.
Classifications of economic activities are designed to categorise data that can be related to the unit of activity. They provide the basis for preparing statistics of output, the various inputs to the production process, capital formation and the financial transactions of such units. Economic activities are classified according to NACE, the classification used to classify economic entities (enterprises, local units and similar statistical units). Within the international trade statistics, the NACE classification refers to the economic activity of traders, i.e. enterprises that are active in international trade.
Number of employees
The number of employees refers to the number of those persons who work for an employer and who have a contract of employment and receive compensation in the form of wages, salaries, fees, gratuities, piecework pay or remuneration in kind. A worker is considered to be a wage or salary earner of a particular unit if he receives a wage or salary from the unit regardless of where the work is done (in or outside the production unit).
The number of employees is a mandatory variable to be recorded in the business registers for each enterprise and local unit. According to the Business Register Regulation, the intention is to use the situation at the end of the year. However, as the end date approach is not harmonised the annual average can also be used as reference.
Type of traders
In the context of the TEC data, the type of trader specifies the type of trade activity of the enterprise. It indicates whether the enterprise is involved only in exports or only imports or trade in both flows.
The type of trader aims to describe the heterogeneity of enterprises according to their involvement in trade.
The statistical unit used should be the enterprise, but Statistics Norway has used the legal unit since this is what is feasible. In most circumstances the legal unit and the enterprise is the same.
The Business Register Regulation defines the link between the legal unit and the enterprise. The same regulation also establishes a link between the business registers and the registers of intra- and extra- EU trade operators through a common unit of reference, namely the legal unit. The enterprise is the statistical unit to be used, which means that trade data must be linked to characteristics available in the Business Register for the enterprise through the legal unit. In this way, trade data are connected with the characteristics of an enterprise and they can be reported in terms of the economic activity and number of employees of the whole enterprise concerned.
The statistical population should comprise all the enterprises involved in trade flows. However, in practice, the linkage between the Trade Register and the Business Register is not systematically straightforward as there may be more complicated links or the linkage may not always provide expected outcomes. This relates in particular to the following cases:
Intra-annual business demography changes;
Large and complex businesses;
Incomplete business register data; and
VAT-groups.
The reference population used in the compilation of TEC datasets relates to traders who have reported trade transactions under a valid ID number and were successfully matched with the Business Register. This means that the enterprise characteristics reported in the TEC datasets refer only to a part of total trade. The following data are excluded:
Some Norwegian trade data lack an enterprise number. Most notably this concern crude oil and natural gas exports from the Norwegian continental shelf. These data are excluded from the TEC compilation. Otherwise no adjustments are done.
Trade carried out by non-resident traders and private individuals, as such traders cannot be associated to an enterprise via the national Business Register; are excluded from TEC.
Norway
The reference period is the same as for monthly trade in goods statistics. It should be the calendar month of export respectively that of import of the goods. However, in practice the reference period is in general the calendar month during which the customs declaration is accepted by the national authorities.
See item 13.1 ‘Accuracy - overall’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
Trade value in thousands of euros
Number of enterprises
Data are compiled using different programs.
Data has been compiled from External Trade Data (administrative data), the Business Register (administrative data) and inbound and outbound Foreign Affiliated Trade Statistics.
Trade in goods data are collected on the basis of:
Trade data are mainly collected from administrative forms in the form of customs declarations.
In addition to that data are collected directly from public administration or enterprises. This applies to exports of electric current, oil, natural gas and fish. Norway also have a survey for imports and exports of ships.
The national business registers serve as the sources for the enterprise characteristics. No samples are drawn from the registers, but the full registers are processed. Some differences in the coverage among the countries can occur. Different administrative sources depending on national law, as well as surveys, are used to update the business registers, and in some countries VAT thresholds for registration apply.
No tables are currently disseminated. Historical data are exceptionally revised.
See item 14.1 ‘Timeliness’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
See item 15.1 ‘Comparability - geographical’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
Figures have good comparability over time at an aggregate level. At the most detailed level some volatility must be expected.
