October 18, 2016 – To say that Canada and the U.S. share a close relationship when it comes to the importing and exporting of goods would be an understatement, to say the least.
Canada is the U.S.’s biggest customer for its goods. In 2015, Canada purchased US$338 billion in goods and services from our neighbours to the south – we buy more than all 28 countries of the European Union!
So it doesn’t come as a big surprise to me that despite a 23 per cent decline in U.S. construction equipment exports from January to June 2016 – largely fuelled by the decline in the oil and gas sector, Canada still remains the leading home by far for U.S. construction equipment.
The mid-year report from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) showed that U.S. construction exports to Canada fell to a total of $2.4 billion. That said, U.S. construction equipment exports fell in most other countries as well, with most regions of the world experiencing larger drops than Canada – Africa fell 43 per cent, Asia fell 28 per cent and South America fell 49 per cent (The only region that did not experience a decline was Europe, which was up 2 per cent).
Canada is still by far the leading home for U.S. exports of construction equipment.
To put things in perspective, Canada’s total imports of U.S. construction equipment in the AEM’s mid-year report were larger than the next nine countries combined, with Mexico the second largest home for U.S. construction equipment at $561 million.
That’s a big deal, and with the Government of Canada rolling out Phase 2 of its $120-billion infrastructure plan to revitalize communities’ roadways, waterworks and other aging parts of the country’s infrastructure, combined with funding on the provincial and municipal levels, Canada’s construction sector will be plenty busy in the coming years. That means an increased need for heavy equipment of all kinds, including more big iron, mobile asphalt plants, washing plants, crushers, conveyors, screens, drones and plenty of other equipment needed to build, maintain and manage successful road building and aggregate operations. Which brings me to Rock to Road’s 2017 Buyers Guide, created to ensure you, the reader, have a great source for finding everything you need to make sure your operations continue to hum along year-round.
And make sure to stay connected online at www.rocktoroad.com for all of the latest industry news, products, projects and special features on road building and aggregate operations across Canada.
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