Canadian international merchandise trade

March 10, 2011

The following is excerpted from a 10 March 2011 news release by Statistics Canada.

Canada's merchandise imports rose 5.3% to $37.4 billion in January, led by a 16.6% increase in volumes of automotive products. Overall, import volumes rose 5.5% while prices declined 0.2%. Import volumes have been trending upward since March 2009...

Automotive products and energy products led the growth in the value of imports. A significant increase was also recorded in imports of machinery and equipment.

Following a 7.9% increase in December, exports rose 0.8% to $37.5 billion in January. Export volumes increased 1.0% while prices edged down 0.1%. Volumes of automotive products, up 18.4%, were the main factor behind the gain in exports.

Exports of industrial goods and materials as well as energy products also increased during the month. In contrast, exports of machinery and equipment declined, thereby moderating the overall gain.

As a result, Canada's trade surplus narrowed from $1.7 billion in December to $116 million in January.

Imports from the United States rose 6.5%, reflecting strong gains in imports of automotive products while exports, up 3.3%, increased for a fourth consecutive month. Consequently, Canada's trade surplus with the United States declined from $4.3 billion in December to $3.8 billion in January.

After a large gain in December, exports to countries other than the United States fell 5.2% in January. Conversely, imports increased 3.4%. Hence, Canada's trade deficit with countries other than the United States increased from $2.6 billion in December to $3.6 billion in January.

This release is available in its entirety on the Statistics Canada website at: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/110310/dq110310a-eng.htm

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Topic(s): 
Canadian Economy & Politics
Information Source: 
Canadian News Channel
Document Type: 
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