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May 2009
- Canada’s merchandise exports fell 6.9% to $28.4 billion in May as volumes declined 4.1% and prices decreased 2.9%. Imports were down 3.5% to $29.8 billion due to a 4.9% reduction in prices while volumes rose 1.5%. As a result, Canada’s trade deficit with the world widened to $1.4 billion in May from $389 million in April. The Canadian dollar appreciated 6.4% against the US dollar in May.
- Exports and imports declined for the third consecutive month in May and have been trending downwards since July 2008. The declines observed in March, April and May 2009 were less pronounced than those at the end of 2008 and January 2009.
- Since July 2008, export volumes decreased 23.7% and prices declined 16.2%. In comparison, import volumes decreased 24.5% while prices edged down 0.1% during the same period.
- Although the declines were widespread across all sectors in May, the continued weakness in global demand for energy products and the restructuring of the automotive industry accounted for more than half of the decrease in exports and imports.
- Exports to the United States dropped 8.1% to $20.3 billion, largely the result of lower exports of automotive products and crude petroleum which have been impacted by the economic downturn in the United States. Imports decreased 3.3% to $18.8 billion. Consequently, the trade surplus with the United States shrank to $1.5 billion in May from $2.6 billion in April.
- Canada’s trade deficit with countries other than the United States narrowed to $2.9 billion in May from $3.0 billion in April. Exports and imports both fell by 3.7%.
Note to readers
Merchandise trade is one component of Canada's international balance of payments, which also includes trade in services, investment income, current transfers as well as capital and financial flows.
International merchandise trade data by country are available on both a balance of payments and a customs basis for the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom. Trade data for all other individual countries are available on a customs basis only. Balance of payments data are derived from customs data by making adjustments for characteristics such as valuation, coverage, timing and residency. These adjustments are made to conform to the concepts and definitions of the Canadian System of National Accounts.
Constant dollars referred to in the text are calculated using the Laspeyres volume formula.
Revisions
In general, merchandise trade data are revised on an ongoing basis for each month of the current year. Current year revisions are reflected in both the customs and balance of payments based data. Revisions to customs based data for the previous year are released on a quarterly basis. Revisions to balance of payments based data for the three previous years are released annually in June.
Factors influencing revisions include late receipt of import and export documentation, incorrect information on customs forms, replacement of estimates with actual figures, changes in classification of merchandise based on more current information, and changes to seasonal adjustment factors.
Revised data are available in the appropriate CANSIM tables.
