Understanding the Tertiary Sector and Trade
Tertiary Activities
The tertiary sector is the economic sector that includes activities that do not produce material goods but serve the population.
The Diversity of the Services Sector
This sector encompasses a wide range of activities. The maximum expansion of the tertiary sector has been reached with the information society, which has produced scientific and technical development, to the point of being called the “tertiary revolution”.
The Upper Tertiary or Quaternary Sector
The tertiary sector continues to increase because of the demand for services related to scientific and technological advancements. The banal tertiary sector comprises activities that require little information or even no qualifications.
Business Activity: Trade
Trade is the buying and selling of goods to meet the needs of the population. Initially, business was conducted through barter, the exchange of goods for other goods.
Domestic and Foreign Trade
Domestic trade takes place within a country:
- Wholesale trade is conducted by wholesalers who purchase large quantities of goods from producers and sell to other traders or companies.
- Retail trade involves selling directly to the public in small quantities.
Foreign trade is what a country conducts with other countries. Sales of domestic products are called exports, and purchases of foreign products are called imports.
Trade Balance
The trade balance is the difference between the goods that a country sells abroad and buys from other countries. If exports are superior to imports, the trade balance is positive. If imports exceed exports, the trade balance is negative.
Balance of Payments
The balance of payments records all economic exchanges of a country, including material goods, services, and financial assets. When revenues exceed expenditures, there is a surplus. When revenues are less than expenditures, there is a deficit. A country may have a negative trade balance and a positive balance of payments.
The Role of Transport
Transportation is the activity by which a person or goods are moved from one place to another. Land, air, and maritime transport systems facilitate this movement. Roads, railroads, and airports are circulation infrastructure needed for transport media.
Functions of Current Transportation
- Enables daily movement of the population.
- Allows movement to faraway places.
- Makes possible the distribution of goods and services.
The Transportation Revolution
In the past 50 years, the most significant changes have been:
- Increased tonnage capacity for ships, trucks, and planes.
- Intermodal freight transport, combining various elements such as planes, trains, and boats in a coordinated and integrated manner through the use of containers.
- Increased speed, especially affecting rail and air travel.
- Daily infrastructure improvements.
- Increased security.
- Reduction in the price of transport.
- Advances in telecommunications, allowing for greater coordination, making transport more effective and safe.
Land Transport Networks
Transport networks are the joint infrastructure where vehicles can easily move. They are formed by lines that connect two or more points. The central places of these networks are transportation hubs, generally matching the largest and most economically important areas. A very dense transport network ensures smooth vehicle movement. Elsewhere, transport networks are sparse and not dense, as in parts of Africa or South America.
Ground Transportation
Road transport is the most used. The road infrastructure is the most used to transport people and goods, and the road network is the most structured and dense form of land transportation.
Rail transport is optimal for medium and long distances. Trains are fast, safe, and cheap, and can move a large load of products. High-speed trains offer great advantages for average distances. Fast trains can use existing infrastructure, run at lower speeds, and consume less energy.