The contribution of the transportation and storage sector to the Gross Domestic Product contracted by 38.86 percent in the third quarter of 2020, the latest report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS has shown.
The subsector contracted by 57.38 percent in the second quarter of the year and by 15.23 percent in the second quarter of 2019.
According to the report, the growth rate in Q3 was slightly better than the preceding quarter which saw a contraction of -41.63 percent.
In real terms, the transportation and storage sector contracted by -42.98 percent in Q3 2020. This rate represented a slightly better performance than the preceding quarter when it recorded -49.23 percent, an increase of 6.25 percent points. Quarter on quarter, growth was 25.81 percent.
The report explained that all activities under transport and the storage industry recorded negative growth rates except for post and courier services.
“All activities under the transport and storage industry recorded negative growth rates except post and courier services. Quarter on quarter, growth stood at 29.69 percent.
Transport activities contributed 1.28 percent to nominal GDP in Q3 2020, a decline from the 2.03 percent recorded in the corresponding period of 2019, but higher than 1.13 percent recorded in the second quarter of 2020” the report stated.
The precarious situation coincides with the losses encountered by the aviation sector owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in pay cuts and massive job losses.
Over 70 pilots were sacked by Air Peace while Bristow Helicopters fired over 100 pilots and engineers in the first half of the year.
Similarly, 10 workers, including six pilots, were sacked by Azman Air on November 7.
Recall that Nigeria recently entered its second recession in five years as official figures showed that the economy shrank again in the third quarter of the year.
This recent recession is the worst in 36 years as data obtained from the World Bank indicated that the country’s Gross Domestic Product dropped by 10.92 percent in 1983 and 1.2 percent in 1984.
– Babajide Okeowo
