Transport

Use of energy products for transportation purposes — box (d) of Figure 5.2 — is defined as the consumption of fuels and electricity used to transport goods or persons between points of departure and destination within the national territory, irrespective of the economic sector within which the activity occurs. Transport is a use-purpose category that cuts across all economic units, rather than a category assigned to any one sector — unlike other final-consumption categories, it is tracked independently of the ISIC classification of the unit performing it [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.89, PDF p. 80, 2018].

The transport of goods or persons to another national territory by merchant ships and civil aircraft is excluded from this definition — it falls under international marine and aviation bunkers instead. However, deliveries of fuel to road vehicles going beyond national borders cannot readily be identified and are, by default, included in transport [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.89, PDF p. 80, 2018].

Table 5.4 — Mode of transport

Transport
Road
Rail
Domestic aviation
Domestic navigation
Pipeline transport
Transport not elsewhere specified

[IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.90, Table 5.4, PDF p. 81, 2018] — 6 modes.

Mode definitions

Domestic aviation — quantities of aviation fuels delivered to all civil aircraft undertaking a domestic flight transporting passengers or goods, or for purposes such as crop-spraying and bench-testing of aero engines. A domestic flight is one where departure and landing airports are both on national territory; flights to/from distant islands that are part of the national territory, requiring passage through other countries' airspace, still count as domestic. Military use of aviation fuels is excluded here (recorded under “not elsewhere specified” instead), as is fuel used by airport authorities for ground transport within airports (recorded under “commerce and public services” instead) [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.91, PDF p. 81, 2018].

Road — fuels and electricity delivered to vehicles using public roads. “Off-road” use (vehicles/equipment used primarily on commercial industrial sites, private land, or in agriculture or forestry) and stationary engines are excluded, recorded under the appropriate final-consumption heading instead. Military deliveries are excluded here too (recorded under “not elsewhere specified”). Freight transport by road and by trolley buses is included [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.92, PDF p. 81, 2018].

Rail — fuels and electricity delivered for use in rail vehicles, including industrial railways and urban rail transport (including trams) [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.93, PDF p. 81, 2018].

Domestic navigation — fuels delivered to vessels transporting goods or people on a domestic voyage, i.e. between ports of departure and destination in the same national territory without intermediate foreign ports of call — this may include journeys of considerable length between two ports in the same country (e.g. San Francisco to Honolulu). Fuel delivered to fishing vessels is excluded here, recorded under “fishing” instead [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.94, PDF p. 81, 2018].

Pipeline transport — fuels and electricity used to support and operate pipelines transporting gases, liquids, slurries and other commodities between points within the national territory: consumption at pumping stations and for pipeline maintenance. Consumption for maintaining flow in distribution pipelines (natural gas, manufactured gas, hot water, steam) is excluded, recorded under the appropriate heading within energy industries own use instead; consumption for transporting natural gas in transmission pipelines is included here. Fuel/electricity for maintaining flow in water pipelines is recorded under “commerce and public services” instead. A transmission pipeline carries its contents to distribution pipelines for eventual delivery to consumers; gas transmission pipelines typically operate at considerably higher pressures than distribution pipelines [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.95, PDF p. 81, 2018].

Transport not elsewhere specified — deliveries of fuels or electricity for transport activities not covered by the other modes. Most forms of transport listed in ISIC Class 4922 (“other land transport”) are already covered by the modes above; however, electricity consumption for téléphériques (telfers), and ski and cable lifts, is recorded here [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.96, PDF p. 82, 2018].

Related

• IRES Chapter V — Energy Flows — the chapter digest this page supports
• Cross-Classification of Uses and Users of Energy — Figure 5.2, where transport is box (d)
• Final Consumption — the flow category transport is a disaggregation of
• International Bunkers — the international-voyage counterpart excluded from this domestic-transport definition
• International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities — ISIC Class 4922, referenced in the “not elsewhere specified” mode