15 September 2005

Vying for American affection (and dollars)

Gosh...it's unfathomable to believe that a billion dollars (CAD) worth of goods passes one way or other over the Canada-U.S. border daily. It makes the scale of a billion dollars worth of goods arriving from China everyday on American shores by ship even more crazy!

China beats out Canada as top exporter to the US in July

China edged out Canada for the first time in July as the world's No. 1 seller of goods to the US, according to international trade data released this week. “This is perhaps the wake-up call that people need,” said Nancy Hughes Anthony, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. “We have to take it very seriously and be prepared to compete.” In July, Canada sold goods worth US$20.6 billion south of the border, down from $24B in June. China, meanwhile, drew $21.3B for its exports to the US, up from $21B a month earlier. Last year, China replaced Mexico as in the No. 2 spot for selling goods to the US. Canada, meanwhile, has seen its exports to the US grow at a more even pace. “It was bound to happen,” said Stephen Poloz, chief economist at Export Development Canada. “US trade with China has been growing faster than trade with anybody.” But there are some caveats about the trade data. Canada still maintains its historical spot in first place as far as cumulative sales to date for the year, with exports totalling $158.7B so far. China's exports to the US amount to $130.5B for the year to date. Plus, Canada's sales to the US are typically low during the summer, when most of the automotive industry shuts down for vacation, while China's summer numbers are high. The US Commerce Department does not adjust the country-by-country statistics for seasonal variations. And while Canada has ceded the top position to China for now, it still maintains the No. 1 title for two-way trade. Total trade between Canada and the US in July alone was worth $39.2B; total trade between China and the US that month was valued at $24.9B. (Canadian Press 050915)

No comments: