Railway Carloadings Increase in August

(Statistics Canada)

The Canadian railway industry saw an increase in cargo loadings in August, as traffic originating on domestic railways as well as traffic received from American railways rose. Total rail freight traffic increased to 25.1 million metric tonnes in August, up 19.6% from the same month last year.

Freight loadings originating in Canada rose 18.1% from August 2009 to 22.6 million metric tonnes. The industry's core transportation systems, non-intermodal and intermodal, both contributed to rise.

Non-intermodal freight loadings, which are typically carried in bulk or loaded in box cars, rose 18.0% from August 2009 to 20.1 million metric tonnes. The commodity groups that saw the largest increases in tonnage were iron ores and concentrates, potash and iron and steel (primary or semi-finished). While the loadings of a majority of commodity groups rose in August, a number of groups registered declines. Those with the largest decreases were lumber, other cereal grains and wood pulp.

Intermodal freight loadings, which involves transporting freight through containers and trailers loaded onto flat cars, increased 18.6% from August 2009 to 2.4 million metric tonnes.

Rail freight traffic received from the United States rose to 2.5 million metric tonnes in August, up 34.7% from August 2009. The increase stemmed largely from non-intermodal freight loadings, which rose 37.3%.

From a geographic perspective, 53.6% of the freight traffic originating in Canada was loaded in the Western Division of Canada, with the remainder loaded in the Eastern Division. The Eastern and Western Divisions, for statistical purposes, are separated by an imaginary line running from Thunder Bay to Armstrong, Ontario. Freight loaded at Thunder Bay is included in the Western Division while loadings at Armstrong are reported in the Eastern Division.

Technology Outdates Trade Rules

(Andrew Mayeda — Postmedia News/Regina Leader-Post)

Old measures fail to keep pace with knowledge-based economy

Open the back of a BlackBerry sold in Canada, and chances are you’ll find three words that speak volumes about Canada’s most celebrated modern-day invention: “Made in Mexico.”

The print may be small, but the implications are significant for Canada’s trade balance. When a BlackBerry assembled in Mexico crosses the border into Canada, the transaction is booked as an export from Mexico to Canada, despite the fact the device was designed and developed by some of Canada’s finest brain power at Research In Motion’s headquarters in Waterloo, Ont.

It’s an example of the occasionally absurd outcomes produced by the traditional approach to trade — a system of measuring global commerce that is becoming more old-fashioned with each text-message that pulses through the world’s wireless networks. Read more here.

UNCTADstat Online Database Unveiled on World Statistics Day, October 20

(UNCTAD)

UNCTADstat, a new free online database offering a single entry point to UNCTAD’s vast repository of statistics, is being launched today, World Statistics Day.

By harmonizing and incorporating all UNCTAD’s online statistical databases, UNCTADstat will serve as an integrated platform for extracting and analyzing data on development, trade, investment, and related issues.

The site will be continuously updated and enriched so that it offers not only long historical time series but also the most recent data. UNCTADstat will cover individual countries, regions, economic and trade groupings, and the world at large.
Among the topics covered are:

• International merchandise trade, including data breakdowns of exports and imports by partners and products;
• International trade in services;
• Economic trends;
• Foreign direct investment (FDI);
• External financial resources, including migrants’ remittances, development assistance, external debt, and international reserves;
• Commodity prices, updated monthly;
• Population and labour force; and
• Maritime transport.

Other topics, new tables, and indicators will be added over time.

UNCTADstat is intended to provide a statistical background against which users may address issues related to trade, investment, development, and economic growth. Among the topics of current concern for which it offers useful information are speculation in commodities markets; the global financial crisis with the severe decline of international trade that started to recover from the second quarter of 2009 to the second half of 2010; and the recent shifting in the balance of developing countries’ inward financial flows from Official Development Assistance (ODA) towards more foreign direct investment and workers’ remittances.

UNCTADstat is accessible here. Any questions can be addressed to statistics@unctad.org.

Canada Exports to U.S. Grow, Shrink Trade Deficit

(Reuters – Louise Egan and Howaida Sorour)

Canada increased its exports to the United States in August after two months of declines, helping shrink the country's trade deficit more than expected in a welcome sign for third-quarter economic growth.

A 2.7% jump in shipments to the flagging U.S. market, which bought 74% of total Canadian exports, boosted Canada's trade surplus with its neighbor for the first time in eight months, Statistics Canada said on Thursday. Passenger car sales led the rise in exports to the U.S.

The export rebound narrowed the overall trade deficit to C$1.35 billion ($1.35 billion) from a revised C$2.55 billion in July, compared with the market forecast of a C$2.40 billion shortfall. Read more here.

Summary statistics and links to the data files are on the Statistics Canada website here. Export and import price indexes can be found here.

U.S. Trade Deficit Widens Sharply to $46.3B in August as Gap with China Hits High

(Associated Press via Canadian Business)

The U.S. trade deficit widened sharply in August, reflecting a surge in imports of consumer products as businesses restocked their shelves in hopes of a pickup in consumer demand.

The politically sensitive deficit with China climbed to an all-time high, a development that was certain to increase pressure on the Obama administration to take a tougher line on trade issues including China's tightly controlled currency.

The Commerce Department said Thursday the deficit in August increased 8.8% to US$46.3 billion. Exports edged up a slight 0.2% but this increase was swamped by a 2.1% jump in imports. Read more here.

Fewer SMEs Exporting Than in 2000: CIBC

(The Toronto Sun – QMI Agency)

The number of small businesses in the export business is falling, and the low level of internationalization carries a significant cost to the wider economy, including lost jobs, CIBC World Markets said in a report Tuesday.

Only 9% of Canadian small- and medium-sized enterprises are in the export business today, down from 10.7% in 2000, a troubling trend given the importance of emerging markets to the global economic recovery.

CIBC estimates the moderate decline in SME trade activity over the last decade impacted no less than 300,000 jobs in terms of actual job loss and foregone opportunities. Read more here.

NAFTA Trade Climbed 18% in July

(Journal of Commerce Online – Joseph Bonney)

Surface transported trade falls 12.3% from June to July

The value of trade moving by surface transportation between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico totaled $61.3 billion in July, an 18% increase from a year earlier, but the business declined from June to July, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported Thursday.

The value of surface transportation shipments between the U.S. and its NAFTA partners fell 12.3% in July from the previous month. The DOT’s Bureau of Trade Statistics noted that month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors.

U.S.-Canada trade totaled $36.3 billion in July, up 17.1% from a year earlier. U.S. surface trade with Mexico totaled $24.9 billion, up 21.5% from July 2009. Read more here.

Railway Carloadings Up in July

(Statistics Canada)

The volume of cargo carried by Canadian railways rose in July, as both commodity loadings in Canada and traffic received from the United States increased.

Total freight traffic originating in Canada and received from the United States rose to 24.7 million metric tonnes, up 19.6% from July 2009. Compared with July 2009, freight loaded in Canada increased 17.4% to 22.3 million metric tonnes in July. The Canadian railway industry’s core transportation systems, non-intermodal and intermodal, both contributed to the rise in cargo loaded.

Non-intermodal freight loadings, which are typically carried in bulk or loaded in box cars, rose 18.5% to 19.9 million metric tonnes. The commodity groups with the largest increases in tonnage were iron ores and concentrates, potash and iron and steel (primary or semi-finished). In contrast, several commodity groups registered declines. Loadings of lumber led the way, followed by wood pulp and other cereal grains.

Intermodal freight loadings, transported through containers and trailers loaded onto flat cars, increased 8.3% to 2.3 million metric tonnes in July, compared with the same month the previous year.

Rail freight traffic coming from the United States rose to about 2.5 million metric tonnes in July, up 44.3% from July 2009. Non-intermodal freight transported from the United States contributed to the increase.

From a geographic perspective, 55.3% of the freight traffic originating in Canada was in the Western Division of Canada, with the remainder loaded in the Eastern Division. The Eastern and Western Divisions, for statistical purposes, are separated by an imaginary line running from Thunder Bay to Armstrong, Ontario. Freight loaded at Thunder Bay is included in the Western Division while loadings at Armstrong are reported in the Eastern Division. Read more

U.S. Trade Deficit Rises in Q2

(CBC News – The Associated Press)

Americans’ stronger appetites for imported goods, especially cars and computers, lifted the broadest measure of the U.S. trade deficit in the second quarter to its highest point since late 2008. The Commerce Department said the current account trade deficit grew to $123.3 billion US in the April-to-June period, a 12.9% increase from the first quarter. Read more here.

New Figures Show Patchy Canadian Economic Recovery

(Reuters – David Ljunggren)

In another signal of a patchy economic recovery in Canada, industrial capacity use rose in the second quarter of 2010 – the fourth consecutive increase – but remained well below recent peaks. Statistics Canada said on Tuesday that industries operated at 76.0% of total capacity, up from the revised 74.4% in the first quarter, and slightly higher than the 75.8% expected by market operators.

The economic recession had helped cut capacity utilization to a record low of 68.1% in the second quarter of 2009. That said, the rate is well below its recent high of 83.1% in the first quarter of 2007.

Read more here.Statistics for industrial capacity utilization rates, and a link to the data file, are on the Statistics Canada website here. Labour productivity statistics, and links to the data files can be found here.

U.S. Trade Deficit Narrows Sharply in July

(Industry Week – Agence France-Presse)

Exports reach highest level in two years

The U.S. trade deficit dropped more than expected in July as exports reached their highest level in two years, official data showed Thursday, boosting hopes for the U.S. economic recovery. The trade deficit dropped to $42.8 billion in July, a 14% decline from the previous month’s revised figure of $49.8 billion – its highest level in 20 months, the Department of Commerce said.

The total July exports rose 1.8% to $153.3 billion from June to its highest level since August 2008 on the back of strong sales of aircraft, industrial machinery, computers and telecommunications equipment, it said. Imports fell 2.1% to $196.1 billion in July from the previous month. Read more here.

Canada Concerned About Weakness in Exports-Flaherty

(Reuters)

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Thursday he is concerned by Canada’s record trade deficit and he called on the private sector to “step up” investment to become more productive to help support economic growth.

“We are concerned about some weakness in exports,” Flaherty told reporters in Kitchener, Ontario. “We need the private sector to continue to step up, start to invest ... to help create more jobs than we’ve seen in Canada, more investment in machinery and equipment.”

Flaherty said that data was starting to show that business investment was coming back, which was encouraging when looking at the longer-term view of the economy.

China Surplus May Exceed $20 Billion, Stoking Yuan Tension

(Bloomberg)

China may tomorrow say that its trade surplus topped $20 billion for a third month in August in a report that risks stoking American lawmakers’ calls for protection from Chinese imports.

Exports probably exceeded imports by $26.9 billion, compared with $15.7 billion in the same month a year earlier, according to the median of 34 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. Shipments abroad gained 35 percent and imports grew 27.5 percent, according to the survey.

The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee will discuss next week China’s currency policy after Premier Wen Jiabao’s government limited the yuan’s gain to less than 1 percent versus the dollar since a June pledge for greater flexibility. With November elections looming, legislators may push a bill letting companies seek tariffs for compensation for an undervalued yuan. Read more here.

Second-Quarter Shock in America

(Peter G. Hall, EDC)

That famous hole in Wyoming where central bankers and other key economy-watchers convened two weekends ago was a fitting metaphor for the post factum sentiment of delegates. Or at least, the American ones. Sentiments were decidedly gloomy, noteworthy for a group that eschews herd hysterics. The mood was fed by the latest US GDP data, released just a day before the conference.

Monthly indicators had long since fed expectations of slower second-quarter growth. Following gains of 5% and 3.7% in the two preceding quarters, the April-June period was projected to be in the 2.5% range. But late-breaking data felled that forecast, and the final number rang in at a thin 1.6%. While surprises like this have occurred in the past, given the current context, this one was a nasty shock.

Who was the culprit? Consumers didn’t help. Weak employment and ongoing deleveraging kept spending growth to 2% for the quarter, but no one was wildly surprised. In contrast, investment data – hard to anticipate at the best of times – were a surprise, but in the other direction. Businesses ramped up spending on equipment by a stunning 25%, and the gain was matched by a stimulus-related one-off increase in residential investment. Numbers like this would normally yield a better bottom line.

Read more and/or watch the video here.

Trade Deficit Widens In July: Statscan

(The Canadian Press)

Canada’s trade deficit with the world widened to $2.7 billion in July from $1.8 billion in June as exports fell and imports grew. Statistics Canada reports merchandise exports dropped 0.7 per cent in July as volumes declined in most sectors, while imports grew two per cent.

The agency says exports declined from $33 billion in June to $32.8 billion in July, the fourth decrease in six months. Overall, export volumes declined 0.6 per cent, falling in all export sectors with the exception of industrial goods and materials. Export prices edged down 0.2 per cent during the month.

Machinery and equipment, other consumer goods and forestry products led the decrease in the value of exports, while a gain in exports of industrial goods and materials moderated the decline.

Imports grew from $34.9 billion in June to $35.5 billion in July, the highest level since November 2008. Read more here.

Export Slowdown Widens Current Account Gap

(Reuters – Louise Egan)

A slowdown in exports to the United States caused Canada’s current account deficit to widen more than expected in the second quarter to C$11.02 billion ($10.5 billion), Statistics Canada said on Monday. The country’s seventh consecutive current account shortfall was larger than the C$10.7 billion deficit analysts had predicted in a Reuters poll and represented deterioration from the revised first-quarter deficit of C$8.46 billion. Statscan revised its first-quarter figure from an initial estimate of a C$7.82 billion deficit.

Read more here. Summary statistics and links to the data files are on the Statistics Canada website here.

Canada’s Trade Deficit Unexpectedly Widens

(John Morrissy — Financial Post)

Canada’s trade deficit with the world rose to $1.1-billion in June from $695-million in May as the country’s exports dropped 2.5% in the month, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday.

Economists polled by Bloomberg had called for the trade deficit to narrow to $300-million.

Declines in exports of industrial goods and materials accounted for two thirds of the decline in the value of overall exports, followed by energy products and automotive products, the federal agency said.

Imports also declined in June, by 1.2%, as a result of lower imports of energy products.

“Overall, this was a very disappointing report as it suggests that the once buoyant trade sector has lost a significant portion of the positive momentum that has contributed in the past few quarters to the strong performance of the Canadian economy,” Millan Mulraine, senior micro strategist at TD Securities said in a morning commentary. Read more: here.

Related Stories

• US Trade Deficit Unexpectedly Widens to $49.9 Billion in June‎ (Bloomberg)
• China July Trade Surplus Widens On Import Slowdown‎ (Wall Street Journal)
• China Trade Surplus Soars as Domestic Demand Flags‎ (ABC News)

‘Everything in Our Industry is Driven By China’

(Evan Duggan — Embassy)

The economic recession means Canadian sectors are increasingly turning to the Middle Kingdom.

Paul Stothart is excited.

Last year, iron ore and coal alone accounted for nearly $1.6 billion in Canadian exports to China. This represented $1 billion more than in 2008, continuing a trend that has become a major boon for Canada’s mining sector.

“Everything in our industry is driven by China,” said Mr. Stothart, vice-president of economic affairs at the Mining Association of Canada, explaining that world mineral prices for copper, nickel, zinc and uranium are largely set by—increasing—Chinese demand for raw minerals.

The Middle Kingdom looms just as large for Andrew Casey, vice-president of foreign affairs and international trade at the Forestry Producers Association of Canada.

“It’s been a brutal couple of years,” he said, adding that the ongoing downturn in the US housing industry has had a dramatic impact on Canada’s forestry industry. He predicts that long-term economic sustainability for the sector will ultimately arrive only from diversification. A comprehensive approach to selling Canadian forest products, he said, includes Asia.

“Success in Asia is almost critical for the industry’s future, and that’s why we’re very encouraged by what we’re seeing,” said Mr. Casey. Read more here.

BTS Releases Freight Transportation Services Index for May

(CIFFA eBulletin)

The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) fell 0.4% in May from its April level, declining after two consecutive monthly increases, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported this week. BTS reported that the Freight TSI has risen 4.4% over the last 12 months, starting in June 2009, after declining 15.3% in the previous 10 months beginning in August 2008.

The index has increased in nine of the last 12 months. Through the first five months of 2010, the index declined 1.9% with small increases in January, March and April combined with a 3.5% decrease in February and the 0.4% decrease in May.

Rays of Recovery – U.S. Container Imports Hit Record High in June

(SteelGuru)

According to preliminary U.S. Customs figures, U.S. container imports from the Far East were the highest on record for June, even exceeding the standing June 2007 record of 1.2 million TEUs.

China led the volume surge, hitting 840,000 TEUs for the month. These shipments were mostly loaded in May, when Chinese ports were again recording their highest YoY monthly figures. Total Far East US trade growth for 2010 is expected to exceed the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement forecast of 6% to 8% cargo growth made in March, following the 15% decline in 2009.

Volume growth in the six months of 2010 has already reached 19% and second quarter growth surged by 23%, following the first quarter’s 14% increase. Read more here.