Overview
The standard goods classification for transport statistics, abbreviated as NST, came into use following a recommendation in 1961 by the Commission of the European Communities. There is complete correspondence between it and the Commodity Classification for Transport Statistics in Europe (CSTE), except for six basic headings where a further breakdown was required to meet specific Community requirements. The codes used were modified in 1962 for the purpose of selecting the groups required for the publication of summarized results. After four years of use, certain minor modifications became necessary and were put into effect on 1 January 1967. The classification has since been called NST/R with 176 heading for goods which are classified as far as possible on the basis of their nature, processing stage, methods of transport and total tonnage transported; The criteria were selected on the basis of the importance of the relevant goods traffic within the transport sector. The analytical structure of the NST/R divides the 176 headings of the classification into 10 chapters and 52 main groups, according to a system which consists of :
- one digit for the chapters;
- two digits for the groups;
- three digits for the headings.
NST 2000 (Standard Goods Nomenclature for Transport Statistics) replaced the CSTE nomenclature (Commodity Classification for Transport Statistics in Europe - UNECE) and the NST/R nomenclature (Standard Goods Nomenclature for Transport Statistics/revised -Eurostat). NST 2007 is an update of NST 2000 taking into account the version of CPA2008/CPC. NST-2007 is a statistical nomenclature for the goods transported by four modes of transport: road, rail, inland waterways and sea (maritime).
Basic information and methodology
- Statistical domains: 2.4.4 Transport
- Status: Operational
- Citation: Report of the UNECE Working Party on Transport Statistics on its 59th Session
- Year adopted: 2008
- Custodian: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
- Official Adopting Entity: UNECE Working Party on Transport Statistics, European Commission
- Coordinating Entity: UNECE Working Party on Transport Statistics
- Available languages: Français, English, Español, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Swedish
- Scope: Classification system for commodities in the transport of goods.
- Statistical unit: Transport activity
- Main principle: The criterion for classification of goods should be the economic activity from which the goods originate.
Correspondence tables
Correspondence table between NST 2007 and the Combined Nomenclature (CN)
NST 2007 - CN 2017, NST 2007 - CN 2018, NST 2007 - CN 2019, NST 2007 - CN 2020, NST 2007 - CN 2021, NST 2007 - CN 2022, NST 2007 - CN 2023, NST 2007 - CN 2024
Correspondence table between NST 2007 and the Statistical Classification of Products by Activity in the European Economic Community (CPA)
NST 2007 - CPA 2.1
Correspondence table between NST 2007 and the Harmonised Commodity Code (NHM)
NST 2007 - NHM 2017, NST 2007 - NHM 2024
Classification structure
| Level | Level Name | Code Format | Number of Items |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Division | 01 | 20 items |
| Level 2 | Group | 01.1 | 81 items |
Most countries supported in theory the approach of aiming at a small number of headings suitable for (a) dissemination and (b) economic analysis, forecasting, etc. However, several countries also mentioned groups of goods which were of special importance for their national economies. They would like to distinguish these groups in their national transport statistics. The criterion for classification of goods should be the economic activity from which the goods originate. In order to retrieve the full consistency with CPA2008/CPC, the correspondence between production of goods and transport of goods has to be respected and carefully maintained.
Frequently asked questions
1. Which is the conversion table from HS to NST?
Please refer to the Harmonized Commodity Code (NHM), which is an elaboration on the Harmonized System (HS) tailored to address specific transport issues, particularly in railway activities. The first six digits of NHM correspond to HS codes, the next two digits correspond to the Combined Nomenclature (CN). Please note that the final thirty codes of the NHM refer to transport equipment managed by the International Union of Railways (UIC), which align with NST. HS codes are updated every five years, and CN codes are updated slightly every year, necessitating a correspondence table every five years.