Transportation Contributes to a Deficit in the Balance of Payments for Services

The transportation sector was the largest contributor to the deficit in the balance of payments for services throughout the first quarter of 2016. In the first three months of 2016, transportation contributed a deficit of US$1.23 billion, or 108 percent of the total services balance deficit of US$1.13 billion.

The high volume of imports using foreign-flagged vessels resulted in a goods transportation services import deficit of over US$1 billion. This deficit was due to exports totaling only US$408 million, while imports reached US$1.5 billion. Passenger transportation services also experienced a deficit of US$141 million, resulting from imports of US$474 million and exports of only US$333 million.

The current account balance of payments for services throughout 2015 recorded a deficit of US$8.3 billion, a decrease of 17.1 percent from the previous year's US$10.01 billion.