Canadian shipments keep falling: Stats Can

OTTAWA, (Jan. 21, 2004) — Canada’s total shipments fell by 0.5 per cent last November, mainly dragged down due to a decrease in motor vehicle manufacturing, reported Statistics Canada. Shipments would have actually increased by a modest 0.1 per cent if it not were for the volatile motor vehicle and parts industries.

Out of the four provinces that reported decreased shipments, Ontario fell the most by $353 million (1.6 per cent) to $22.3 billion.

Stats Can attributes the year-long drop in shipments to the SARS virus, mad cow disease, forest fires in B.C., and the soaring value of the Canadian dollar, for a 1.3 per cent total decline in shipments compared to the first 11 months of 2002. This was in sharp contrast to the United States, Canada’s largest trading partner, which rebounded from sluggish growth in recent years to post a 2.2 per cent gain in shipments in 2003.