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Continuing our series on Statistics Canada’s The Daily publication, today we will be focusing on Canadian International Merchandise Trade.

What is it: This publication provides in Canadian dollars, the monthly trade in merchandise to and from Canada on a monthly basis.  Within the definition of “merchandise”, Statistics Canada includes agriculture and fishing, energy, automotive and forestry products, industrial goods and materials, machinery and equipment, and other consumer goods.

Canadian exports and imports are presented separately by month, by principal trading areas, and the above principal commodity groupings.

The data is seasonally adjusted, which is a process that removes the systematic ups and downs that occur throughout the year.

How it is used:

• Viewing trends in these data series can reveal a great deal about specific Canadian industries. For instance, trends in both imports and exports since 2007 show the dramatic impact of the global recession experience in late 2008 and the recovery.
• Sector specific trade information can be valuable for those companies providing goods and services within or to those industries. 
• It is important to keep in mind the impact the Canadian dollar’s value relative to the currencies of our trading partners has on trade in merchandise.  A high Canadian dollar can make Canadian goods less attractive to our international clients.
• Trade balance = exports – imports 
  • a trade deficit = exports < imports
  • a trade surplus = exports > imports

An example:

Your company provides consulting services largely to the auto sector in Ontario.  The sector was hit hard in 2008, and you’ve felt it in your bottom line. You’ve heard positive news reports, but are unsure whether it will translate into business for you. Reviewing the Canadian International Merchandise Trade publication, you can confirm that automotive product exports were up 34.5% year over year in August, and 44.8% year to date August, year over year.  There was a slight dip month over month from July to August 2010, due to trucks and motor vehicle parts.  Overall though, the future looks bright for the industry and your business.  Time to plan how you are going to capture a part of the recovery!

Where can I find more information on this series:

Statistics Canada produces the “Canadian International Merchandise Trade publication (Catalogue number 65-001-X) available at: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/65-001-x/65-001-x2010008-eng.htm.

The most recent Daily publication of this series was on October 14, 2010.
Publication frequency: The catalogue is published on a quarterly basis and contains monthly data.

Cost: Free (pdf or HTML)

Electronic data series available? : Available through Cansim in tables 228-0001-228-0003, 228-0033, 228-0034, 228-0041-228-0043 and 228-0047-228-0057.  Go to http://cansim2.statcan.gc.ca/ and enter the table number.  There will be a charge for the data.

Continuing our series on Statistics Canada’s The Daily publication, today we will be focusing on the New Housing Price Index.

What is it:

The New Housing Price index is one of a group of capital expenditures price indices that Statistics Canada produces.  It measures the change in the price which new houses are initially sold.  Data is available for house and land together and separately.

• Specifications of the homes reported on are consistent across periods, controlling for other factors which could explain a price change.
• GST and HST are not included in the statistic.
• The data is not seasonally adjusted, which means Statistics Canada has not smoothed out any impact that regularly occurring events might have on prices, such as summer holidays, Christmas, etc.
• The statistic is expressed in terms of an index, which means the price is relative to a particular base year, in this case 1997 which receives a “base” value of 100.  All other values are relative to that point in time.

How it is used:

Like the consumer price index, the new housing price index shows the general price level for a given month, in a given location, but specifically focuses on new houses. To interpret it look at the statistic over time.  Is it rising or falling?  What is the percent increase month over month?  Year over year?

An increase in new house prices could indicate a recovery in the sector or a shortage of new housing stock. If you are in a business such as house construction or interior design changes in housing prices are important to consider. After analysing their movement along with the movement in other statistics such as mortgage rates, unemployment rates, GDP, etc, an appropriate response can then be incorporated into the short and long term strategic planning process for your business.

An example:

The new house price index (house and land) for Winnipeg rose from 192.1 to 192.8, a 0.4% increase from July to August 2010.  It also increased by 5.3% year over year in August. Looking further at the year over year trend for August we see that 5.3% is a bit of a rebound from 2009, which experienced slower growth of 1.6%, down from 2008’s value of 6.7%.  2009 was a tough year globally so it is good to see that an improvement is underway in Winnipeg’s housing market.  Confirming this trend through examining other statistics will then provide more certainty as to whether ramping up marketing and production is appropriate for businesses relating to new house construction.

Where can I find more information on this series:

Statistics Canada produces the “Capital Expenditure Price Statistics publication (Catalogue number 62-007-X) available at: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?catno=62-007-X&lang=eng.

The most recent Daily publication of this series was on October 13, 2010.

Publication frequency: The catalogue is published on a quarterly basis and contains monthly data.

Cost: Free

Electronic data series available: Available through Cansim table 327-0005.  Go to http://cansim2.statcan.gc.ca/ and enter the table number.  There will be a charge for the data.

Summer is over, the leaves are turning, and it’s time to return to regular blogging! 

I thought I’d reach for my inner economist and write a series on one of Statistics Canada’s premier products: The Daily.  In this series, I plan to give a user friendly interpretation of some of the information provided in this publication, and more importantly give insights on how to apply this information to your everyday business life.  After all, your tax dollars pay for it – you might as well get some use out of it!

The Daily can be accessed from the following page on the Statistics Canada website: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/dai-quo/index-eng.htm.  It is published every Monday – Friday, except holidays at 8:30am Eastern time.