Notes

^1.

Current Analysis(613-951-9162)

^2.

Investment in machinery and equipment peaked in the first quarter of 2008, before overall investment peaked. Between the first quarter of 2008 and the end of 2009, investment in machinery and equipment fell 23.9%.

^3.

For more on the cyclical behaviour of investment and its components, see P. Cross "Long-run cycles in business investment." CEO, September 2005.

^4.

See The Daily, Friday, February 25, 2011.

^5.

Just as energy includes downstream industries such as refining, in Figure 1 mining includes manufacturing of primary metals.

^6.

Since this industry also provides services to metal and non-metal mining, it is not included in overall energy investment.

^7.

Elsewhere in the primary sector, the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector saw intended investment rise to $5.6 billion, equalling its previous peak as gains in agriculture offset weakness in forestry.

^8.

Classifying industries as expanding or contracting yields the same results whether the period is 2000 to 2008 or 2002 to 2008. Extending the end point to 2010 also makes no difference, except other transportation equipment and plastics would switch from expanding to contracting because of the severe decline in sales after 2008. But this latter cyclical decline is clearly different from the secular decline posted in all the contracting industries, and these two industries are therefore properly allocated to the expanding sector.

^9.

This industry group includes leather, to keep the industrial classification consistent with that for investment. Leather is grouped with beverages and tobacco in the investment data for reasons of confidentiality. Figure 7 also groups textiles and clothing into one industry.

^10.

The drop for computers and electronics does not just reflect lower prices for its goods, as the volume of output also fell nearly in half between 2000 and 2010.

^11.

Between 2000 and 2008 (2009 is excluded because the recession dampened profits in all manufacturing industries), profits rose in all industries where both investment and sales expanded. Conversely, profits fell in almost all industries where sales and investment faltered (in the case of wood, paper and autos, large losses were recorded even before the recession). The only exceptions were computers and electronics, where a trend to lower profits after their peak in 2000 was suddenly reversed in 2008 and 2009 (when new products were introduced in the wireless segment of the industry), and other transportation equipment (where aerospace never matched its record profits in 2001 before the 9/11 attacks.

^12.

The industries that contracted after 2000 added almost 120,000 jobs in the 1990s. These gains were widespread, including wood, printing, plastics, computers and electronics, motor vehicles, furniture and even a small gain in textiles and clothing.