|
Jayson Myers
Manufacturing shipments
In March, Canadian manufacturers shipped goods worth an estimated
$50.1 billion, representing a 2.8% gain over the previous month.
For the first quarter, shipments were up one per cent, compared to
the fourth quarter of 2006. Taking price fluctuations into account, the volume of shipments rose 1.6% to $45.1 billion in March, the fourth increase in five months.
Manufacturing output and GDP
Manufacturing has been underperforming in terms of output or GDP
growth. Production declined by about one per cent across Canada last
year, and was flat during the first quarter of 2007.
New and unfilled orders
While the level of new orders has been fairly constant since early
2004, the backlog of unfilled orders has been on the rise since early
2005 and is nearing levels last seen in 2002 when the Canadian dollar
started to appreciate in value against its US counterpart.
Shipments by sector
The value of goods produced and shipped by Canadian manufacturers
was 1.3% higher in March 2007 than a year ago. Shipments of electrical equipment and primary metals have increased by double-digit rates over the past year. Stronger growth is also evident in automotive and transportation equipment, textile products, furniture and metal fabricating sectors.
Shipments by province
Manufacturing shipments in Manitoba, PEI and Newfoundland and
Labrador have all experienced double-digit growth over the past year.
Growth has also remained strong in Alberta. A pick-up in automotive
shipments and a temporary decline in the value of the loonie during
the first three months of this year helped to boost manufacturing shipments in Ontario. But export-dependent sectors in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are still feeling the effects of the high dollar.
Trends information is provided by Plant, Canada’s Industrial Newspaper. Source: Jayson Myers, president and chief economist with Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters. Purchasing b2b and Plant are both published by Rogers Media.
|
