Disposition of Shipments of Ingots and Rolled Steel Products

Detailed information for August 2012

The monthly survey, Disposition of Shipments of Ingots and Rolled Steel Products, measures quantities of net shipments of ingots and rolled steel products to end-use markets, by Canadian manufacturers.

Data release - October 22, 2012

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

This survey measures on a monthly basis, the quantities of net shipments of ingots and rolled steel products to end-use markets by Canadian manufacturers.

Data on disposition of shipments of ingots and rolled steel products are used as an indicator of the economic condition of the steel manufacturing industry; as an input to Canada's Gross Domestic Product and as an input into macro- and micro-economic studies to determine market shares and industry trends. Data are used by the business community, trade associations (including the Canadian Steel Producers' Association), federal and provincial departments and international organizations.

Reference period: Month

Collection period: During the month following the reference month.

Subjects

• Manufacturing
• Non-metallic mineral and metal

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population for this survey includes manufacturers in Canada of ingots and rolled steel products as defined in the Standard Classification of Goods (SCG), that report these products to the Annual Survey of Manufactures and Logging or ASML (record number 2103). This means that estimates from this monthly survey do not cover the entire universe of ingots and rolled steel producers in Canada because the ASML does not survey all businesses. Instead, the ASML uses administrative data to cover the small and medium-sized establishments. These manufacturers are not part of this monthly survey.

Instrument design

The questionnaire for this survey has remained stable over the years, although the format and wording has been modified to maintain its relevance based on feedback from survey respondents and data users.

Regular dialogue is maintained with the Canadian Steel Producers' Association and the respondents. Every effort is made to ensure that the questions asked are relevant and can be answered by the manufacturers.

Sampling

This survey is a census with a cross-sectional design.

Data are collected for all units of the target population, therefore, no sampling is done.

Data sources

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents.

Data are collected each month from survey respondents using a mail-out / mail-back process. Data capture and preliminary editing are performed simultaneously to ensure validity of the data. Businesses from whom no response has been received or whose data may contain errors are followed-up by telephone or fax.

Under normal circumstance, data are collected, captured, edited, tabulated and published within 6 to 8 weeks after the reference month.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .

Error detection

In order to detect errors and internal inconsistencies, automated edits are applied to captured data to verify that totals equal the sum of components and that the data are consistent with previous month's data. Data that fail the edits are subject to manual inspection and possible corrective action.

In addition, subject matter experts analyse the data at a more aggregate level to detect and verify any large month-to-month or year-over-year changes for the industry.

Imputation

Missing data for the current month are imputed automatically by applying to the previous month's value, the month-to-month change observed for the same period in the previous year, for the unit in question. However, an option exists for analysts to manually override this imputation with a better estimate based on pertinent knowledge about the industry or the business.

Estimation

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Quality evaluation

Survey results are analyzed to ensure comparability with patterns observed in the historical data series and the economic condition of the industry. Information available from other sources such as the Steel Primary Forms Weekly survey (record number 2131), the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing or MSM (record number 2101), the media, other government organizations and industry association are also used in the validation process.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Direct disclosure may occur when the value in a tabulation cell is composed of a few responses or when the cell is dominated by a few companies. Residual disclosure may occur when confidential information can be derived indirectly by piecing together information from different sources or data series.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Data may be revised to include amended information or reports from respondents that are received after the end of the collection cycle. Revisions are disseminated in a subsequent period and reflected in the CANSIM series.

Data accuracy

The methodology of this survey has been designed to promote data accuracy. Since data are collected from all Canadian producers of ingots and rolled steel products as defined in the target population, the resulting estimates are not subject to sampling error. However, the results are still subject to the non-sampling errors associated with coverage, non-response, inaccurate reporting, and processing. Errors relating to coverage and non-response can be measured. All attempts are made to control inaccurate reporting and processing errors.

Coverage error
There is a degree of under coverage (referred to as coverage error) in the survey results as there is generally a lag between the time a new business comes into existence and when it is included in the universe of this sub-annual survey. This is due to the fact that the list of companies surveyed is derived from the latest available survey results of the ASML which are not available until 15 months after the reference period.

This error is kept at a minimum by also using advance information from the ASML, feedback from the MSM and other sources such as the Canadian Steel Producer's Association, trade journals and newspaper articles, to identify new survey units.

Non-response error
Some respondents may be unable to provide data for numerous reasons (i.e. fire, theft, strike, economic hardship, etc.), while others may be late in responding. To minimize non-response, delinquent respondents are followed up rigorously by phone or fax. Data for non-responding units are imputed using industry trend and other related information. Data are revised at a later date, if completed questionnaires are received after the end of a collection cycle.

Non-response error is calculated using the number of non-responses in the year divided by the number of total expected responses in the year.

Inaccurate response
Inaccuracy may result from poor questionnaire design or an inability on the part of respondents to provide the requested information or from misinterpretation of the survey questions. To reduce such errors the format and wording in the questionnaire are reviewed from time to time and modified based on feedback from survey respondents and data users. Respondents are also reminded of the importance of their contribution and of the accuracy of reported information.

Processing errors
These errors may occur at various stages in the processing of survey data such as data entry, verification, editing and tabulation. Data are examined for such errors using automated edits along with an analytical review by subject matter experts. Several checks are performed on the collected data to verify internal consistency and comparability over time.