Transport-related activities contributed 1.35 percent to nominal GDP in the second quarter of 2023, according to the recent GDP report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
This represents a decrease from the 2.79 percent recorded in the corresponding period of 2022, and lower than the 1.71 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2023.
The decrease in transportation activities in Nigeria can be attributed to the impact of the removal of the petrol subsidy by the Federal Government, which increased pump prices to as much as N640 depending on the state.
According to pundits, this was a major reason for the decrease as the removal of the petrol subsidy, which skyrocketed the pump prices of petrol, also forced many private car owners’ especially low-income owners to pack their vehicles at home and resort to using commercial transportation.
It also resulted in high transportation fares for both local and inter-state trips compelling many to stay from moving about due to high fares with its impact on lives and businesses.
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In terms of growth, the report said that the sector grew by -44.16 percent in nominal terms in the second quarter of 2023 (year-on-year).
This rate was lower relative to the 53.83 percent recorded for the corresponding quarter of 2022 and lower than the 20.22 percent in the previous quarter.
According to NBS, six activities make up the transportation and storage sector and they include road transport; rail transport and pipelines; water transport; air transport; transport services; and post and courier services.
NBS further revealed that five of six sub-activities under the transport and storage industry recorded positive growth rates in the second quarter of 2023.
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Also, the quarter-on-quarter growth stood at -19.68 percent.
In real terms, the transportation and storage sector grew by -50.64 percent in the second quarter of 2023. This rate represents a decrease of 102.30 percent points relative to the same quarter of the previous year and a fall of 60.01 percent points relative to the preceding quarter.
Meanwhile, the quarter-on-quarter growth was -25.00 percent. The contribution of the sector to real GDP in quarter two of 2023 was 0.89 percent, showing a fall from 1.84 percent recorded in the preceding year and lower than 1.18 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2023.
