Yeah it is interesting how transportation costs affect the economy. The Norwegian inland in those times often kept producing grain despite the fact that grain could more cheaply be grown in the coast. Yet for Norwegian coastal towns it was cheaper to import grain than grow it themselves.

Hence we had to bizarre situation of growing grain in the least favorable locations while not growing it in the more favorable locations.

Without efficient inland transportation Norway became segmented into essentially different economies. It was cheaper to transport a sack of sugar from Havana, Cuba to Oslo, Norway than to send the same sack 50 km inland using horse and carriage.

The mountainous terrain in Norway made it hard to expand railroad combined with lack of capital.

Ships has long been the main mode of transportation in Norway. On the West coast regular car travel involves the use of a lot of ferries. The tall mountains surrounding the fjords make it hard to drive anywhere.