ANALYSIS OF FREIGHT FLOWS FROM NORWAY TO SWEDEN

Abstract

In spite of the role and importance of freight transportation, it is often an overlooked aspect of the transportation system. This thesis report analyses freight flows from Norway to Sweden, and computes source-final destination matrix of redistribution of flows to final destinations. Thus the main purpose of the thesis is to find out the destinations of the freight flows to Sweden from Norway. Our preliminary analysis included determination of seasonal variations of the freight flows for the various commodity groups, and the proportion of flows from the border stations. Furthermore, we aggregate the flows into some geographic areas in Sweden and analyse the composition and proportion of the flows to the geographic areas emphasizing on the geographic areas with higher volumes. Finally, in the second part of the research we propose that further research is necessary to redistribute the flow to final destinations. In this context, we explore the industrial structures of Sweden and employ an algorithm to redistribute the flows to the various counties by comparing flows to postcodes declared to the customs by importers to estimated flows to industries, using employment ratios as proxy for industrial concentration and subsequently, intermediate input consumption. Using the algorithm , we demonstrate how to compute a source-final destination matrix indicating the redistribution of the flows.