June 11, 2021
Statistics Canada announced that the country's merchandise imports fell 4.7% in April, while exports decreased 1.0%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade balance went from a deficit of $1.3 billion in March to a surplus of $594 million in April.
The Federal agency notes that both import and export declines were attributable in large part to significant decreases in trade of motor vehicles and parts. This was mainly the result of production shutdowns in the auto assembly industry in April because of the shortage of semiconductor chips.
The drop in imports represented the strongest percentage decrease since the historic declines of April 2020. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, imports fell 1.3%.
As for total exports, excluding the drop in motor vehicles and parts category, other categories rose 1.6% in April.
Canada's trade surplus with the United States widened from $4.2 billion in March to $6.4 billion in April, as imports were down 5.2%, mainly because of the fall in imports of motor vehicles and parts. Exports to the United States increased 1.4%, supported by higher exports of seafood products and softwood lumber.
Canada's trade deficit with countries other than the United States widened from $5.5 billion in March to $5.8 billion in April. Exports to those countries fell 7.2%, mainly on lower exports to Hong Kong (gold) and the United Kingdom (gold). Imports from countries other than the U.S. were down 3.8% in April. Following a 27.8% increase in March, imports from China fell 18.8% in April, with widespread decreases across a number of product categories.