Exports Plunge By 9%

(Virginia Galt — Globe & Mail)

Canada’s trade deficit widened to a record $993-million in January, leaving no industry sector unscathed, as Canadian exporters were hammered by the collapse in global demand.

Exports fell 9 per cent to $31.7-billion, led by a sharp decline in automotive products trade, while imports fell 7.9 per cent $32.7-billion, Statistics Canada reported. Prior to December, Canada had not run a trade deficit in 33 years.

“Nobody is exempt. All industries are involved in this global situation right now,” Peter Hall, chief economist at Export Development Canada, said in an interview after Statistics Canada reported a double dose of bad news – the January trade statistics, and the loss of 82,600 jobs in February as falling demand forced more businesses to scale back.

“Much of what is happening is imported. It’s not a made-in-Canada event. It’s something that is washing onto our shores from outside.” Read more here.