Transport satelite accounts

Description

Satellite accounts extend the analytical capacity of the national accounts for economic activities which are only partially described in this general framework. This allows enlargement and therefore improvement of the capabilities of the central system in terms of economic analysis and policy assessment.

The transport sector is particularly suitable for the construction of satellite accounts. From the production perspective of the national accounts, this activity is only represented explicitly by transport services offered to a third party in a market transaction by firms that are identified as belonging to the transport branch. The national accounts do not explicitly include private transport, which may be relatively large. Similarly, from the expenditure perspective of the national accounts, intermediary consumption related to private transport is not taken explicitly into account.

The transport satellite accounts have been drawn up at the national level (Belgium) for the years 1995, 2000 and 2005. They are largely based on the methodology developed and applied in France (see website).

The construction of accounts follows the same frequency as that of the supply and use tables of the Institute of National Accounts. The time lag between the date of release of those tables, and thus of the transport satellite accounts, and the year to which they relate significantly reduces the analysis potential of the satellite accounts. Therefore, it has been decided to no longer pursue their construction in the original form, but to reduce it to expenditure items for which more frequent updates are possible. More precisely, from 2014 onwards, the transport satellite accounts will be limited to the final consumption expenditure of households.