Key Industry and Economic Trends for October 2013

By: Paul Young, CGA

Date: December 1, 2013

Canadian Manufacturing Sales

Commodity Prices

Oil Sands• CALGARY—The oil sands support more than 400,000 jobs in Canada and

1.5 percent of the country’s economy, but the sector is still falling short for domestic manufacturers, according to a report by the Conference Board of Canada.

• Every year, about $5 billion worth of goods come into the oil sands from overseas, and that number will burgeon to $140 billion over the next 20 years, said Michael Burt, director of industrial trends with the Conference Board, who presented the report at the National Supply Chain Forum in Calgary earlier this week.

• “It’s primarily manufactured goods that we’re importing. Things like heating and ventilation equipment that’s produced locally and could be sourced from companies here in Canada,” Burt said.

• Steel products are coming in from offshore, along with transportation equipment, electronics and other field components.

• “It’s true that the vehicles used in the oil sands are sometimes site specific or product specific and we may not make the parts right now in Ontario to supply those vehicles, but how easy would it be to retool to adapt our production processes?”

Oil Rigs

Natural Gas

Natural Gas

Canadian Manufacturing Sales

Agriculture Equipment

Automotive Production

Steel Production

Machine Tools Sales

Canada Exports and Imports

Canada Current Account Balance

Class 8 Truck Sales

Freight Index

Housing Starts

Canada Retail Sales

Canada Retail Sales

US Retail Sales

Unemployment - Canada