Canada's merchandise exports rose 3.5% in September, while there was little change in imports, according to figures released this morning by Statistics Canada. As a result, Canada's trade deficit with the world narrowed to $927 million from $2.0 billion in August.
Exports rose by $1.0 billion to $30.3 billion in September, as volumes increased 4.5%. Exports which have been on a downward trend since July 2008, reached a low point in May 2009. Since then, exports have increased in three of the past four months.
Automotive products, industrial goods and materials, and machinery and equipment were the main sources of growth for exports. Energy products mitigated the gains.
In September, imports edged down 0.1% to $31.2 billion, as volumes fell 0.8%. However, declines in imports in both August and September did not offset the strong gain in July 2009.
Declines occurred in imports of automotive products, machinery and equipment, energy products and agricultural and fishing products. These were mostly offset by a solid gain in imports of industrial goods and materials. If this sector was excluded, total imports would have declined 2.1%.
Exports to the United States increased 0.5% while imports grew 1.7%. As a result, Canada's trade surplus with the United States shrank to $2.1 billion in September from $2.3 billion in August.
Elsewhere, new motor vehicle sales increased 1.2% to 128,415 units in September following a slight decrease in August. StatsCan says higher sales of North American-built passenger cars were responsible for most of the increase.
Sales of new motor vehicles have generally been rising since the beginning of 2009 after a sharp decline at the end of 2008. On a year-over-year basis, September's sales were 7.5% lower than in September 2008.
Preliminary industry data indicate that the number of new motor vehicles sold increased by 3% in October.
The number of new passenger cars sold in September increased 2.0% to 64,043 units. Sales of North American-built passenger cars increased 5.3%, partially offsetting the decrease in August. The number of overseas-built passenger cars sold decreased by 1.9%.
Sales of new trucks (which include minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses) rose for a third consecutive month, increasing 0.5% in September to 64,372 units.
