Canadian international merchandise trade, May 2024

Released: 2024-07-03

In May, Canada's merchandise exports decreased 2.6%, while imports were down 1.6%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $1.3 billion in April to $1.9 billion in May. This represents a third consecutive monthly deficit.

Consult the "International trade monthly interactive dashboard" to explore the most recent results of Canada's international trade in an interactive format.

Chart 1 
Merchandise exports and imports

Volatility in gold exports continues

Following an increase of 2.1% in April, total exports were down 2.6% in May to $62.4 billion, the lowest level since July 2023. Overall, declines were observed in 8 of the 11 product sections. In real (or volume) terms, total exports were down 1.7% in May 2024.

Chart 2 
Contribution to the monthly change in exports, by product, May 2024

Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products fell 7.0% in May. Exports of unwrought gold, silver and platinum group metals and their alloys—a category largely composed of unwrought gold—decreased the most (-17.1%). Over the past four months, export values of unwrought gold have experienced large monthly variations, with swings in volumes and prices both contributing to the fluctuations. The geopolitical context and high demand for gold were factors contributing to this volatility. While prices were behind the increase in April, lower volumes drove the decline in May, mainly because of a decrease in exports to the United Kingdom.

Chart 3 
Exports of unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys

Exports of energy products decreased 2.4% in May, in large part due to lower prices. The main contributor to this decrease was lower exports of crude oil and bitumen, down 2.8%. Export prices of crude oil were down in May, while volumes were essentially flat. Following a large increase in April, exports of natural gas liquids (-24.6%) also decreased in May, led by lower exports of propane to Japan.

Exports of aircraft and other transportation equipment and parts fell 11.5% in May, mainly on lower exports of aircraft (-28.2%). This decrease follows an atypically strong increase in April that saw higher exports of business jets destined to countries such as Malta, Spain, and Denmark.

In May, exports of metal ores and non-metallic minerals were down 13.3%, mainly because of the decrease in exports of copper ores and concentrates (-36.2%). This also follows an unusually strong April in which exports of copper ores and concentrates increased 47.2% to reach a record of $592 million. Despite the monthly decrease in May, exports of copper ores and concentrates were up 17.4% in the first five months of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023. This growth coincided with concerns about stagnating global supplies of copper in times of rising demand. The May 2024 decrease was mainly the result of lower exports to Japan.

Exports of motor vehicles and parts increased 3.6% in May and partially offset the overall decline in total exports. Following declines of 8.1% in March and 2.4% in April, exports of passenger cars and light trucks increased 8.4% in May. This increase reflected higher sales of Canadian-manufactured light trucks to the United States. Despite the monthly gain, exports of passenger cars and light trucks were 9.8% below the last peak observed in October 2023.

Imports of passenger cars and light trucks fall

Total imports fell 1.6% in May, following a 1.3% increase in April. Overall, 6 of the 11 product sections posted declines. In real (or volume) terms, total imports were down 1.3% in May.

Chart 4 
Contribution to the monthly change in imports, by product, May 2024

Following two consecutive monthly increases, imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products fell 10.0% in May. The decrease was mainly the result of lower imports of unwrought gold, silver and platinum group metals and their alloys (-45.9%). The months of March and April saw strong increases in gold purchased abroad, while the month of May showed a return to more typical values.

Chart 5 
Imports of unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys

Imports of motor vehicles and parts, which were an important positive contributor to the April increase in total imports, decreased 4.4% in May. This followed three consecutive monthly gains for this product section. In May, imports of passenger cars and light trucks (-7.1%) contributed the most to the decrease, with lower imports of sport utility vehicles and other light trucks from the United States. Delays in the production and shipment of key models to Canadian dealerships this year have contributed to large monthly variations that continued in May.

Chart 6 
Imports and exports of passenger cars and light trucks

Imports of energy products were down 11.6% in May, representing a third consecutive monthly decrease. Imports of crude oil and crude bitumen fell 15.1%, in large part due to lower shipments coming from the United States. Imports of refined petroleum energy products (-14.2%) were also down, in part because of lower prices. There were lower imports of aviation fuel from the United States and India in May.

Partially offsetting these declines, imports of metal ores and non-metallic minerals increased 27.3% in May. Imports of other metal ores and concentrates rose 27.1%, mostly because of higher imports of gold for refining from several countries, including Brazil, Mauritania, Chile and Guyana. Additionally, imports of copper ores and concentrates more than doubled, with higher imports coming from Chile.

Trade surplus with the United States widens in large part because of light trucks

Despite the overall decline in total exports, exports to the United States rose 0.8% in May, with light trucks contributing the most to the increase. Light trucks were also behind the decrease in imports from the United States (-1.7%). As a result, Canada's trade surplus with the United States widened from $7.1 billion in April to $8.2 billion in May.

Trade deficit with countries other than the United States widens due to a large drop in exports

Exports to countries other than the United States declined 12.9% in May, the strongest percentage decrease on record within the current series (which begins in 1997). There were lower exports to the United Kingdom (unwrought gold), Japan (copper ores and natural gas liquids) and Saudi Arabia (other transportation equipment). Meanwhile, imports from countries other than the United States posted a more modest decline of 1.4%. Imports from the United Kingdom (unwrought gold) and Germany (various products) decreased the most in May.

As a result, Canada's trade deficit with countries other than the United States widened from $8.4 billion in April to $10.1 billion in May.

Chart 7 
International merchandise trade balance

Revisions to April merchandise export and import data

Imports in April, originally reported at $65.5 billion in the previous release, were revised to $65.4 billion in the current reference month's release. Exports in April, originally reported at $64.4 billion in the previous release, were revised to $64.1 billion in the current reference month's release.

Monthly trade in services

In May, monthly service exports were up 0.5% to $17.0 billion. Meanwhile, imports of services edged down 0.2% to $18.1 billion.

When international trade in goods and services are combined, exports decreased 1.9% to $79.5 billion in May, while imports fell 1.3% to $82.4 billion. As a result, Canada's total trade deficit with the world went from $2.5 billion in April to $2.9 billion in May.

Products

The product "International trade monthly interactive dashboard" (Catalogue number71-607-X) is now available. This new interactive dashboard is a comprehensive analytical tool that presents monthly changes in Canada's international merchandise trade data on a balance-of-payments basis, fully supporting the information presented every month in the Daily release.

The product "The International Trade Explorer" (Catalogue number71-607-X) is now available online.

The online Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database is no longer available. It has been replaced by the Canadian International Merchandise Trade Web Application (Catalogue number71-607-X), a modern tool that provides trade data users with a number of enhancements.

The updated "Canada and the World Statistics Hub" (Catalogue number13-609-X) is now available online. This product illustrates the nature and extent of Canada's economic and financial relationship with the world using interactive charts and tables. It provides easy access to information on trade, investment, employment and travel between Canada and a number of countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, China, Japan, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).