Canadian international merchandise trade by industry for all countries

Detailed information for February 2024

Canadian international merchandise trade by industry for all countries provides Canada's merchandise imports and exports by industry and partner country on a customs basis. The data published are based on the concordance of Harmonised System (HS) codes to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes of the NAICS 2017 v. 2.0 structure.

Data release - April 4, 2024

• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

Statistics Canada's current concordance between Harmonised System (HS) codes and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes reflects the NAICS 2017 v. 2.0. Canadian international merchandise trade by industry for all countries provides Canada's merchandise imports and exports by industry and partner country on a customs basis according to that concordance.

The concordance between the HS and NAICS codes is a mapping of import HS10 codes and export HS8 codes to six-digit NAICS 2017 V. 2 structure codes using the industry of origin (or supply side), with some HS codes grouped into 5-digit NAICS codes. Although straightforward for exports, the industry of origin approach for imports means that import data are compared to the Canadian industries that would be the primary producers and competitors of these imported goods. Hence, with few exceptions, manufactured goods are mapped to the manufacturing industries which primarily produce these goods, and agricultural or other primary goods are assigned to agricultural, mining or other primary industries which primarily produce those goods.

For imports, each good is deemed to be the principal product of a single industry as the Customs Tariff is deemed to have enough detail to warrant assignment of all classes to only one NAICS, rather than assigning weights, without losing a great deal of industry of origin detail.

For exports, distribution factors are used in the HS to NAICS concordance, meaning that the weight of one HS code may be distributed to more than one NAICS code. In general, most goods have a one-to-one correspondence.

For imports, other options for mapping HS codes to NAICS codes, such as basing the mapping on industries that only import the goods, or industries that wholesale or retail the goods, are not retained as they are not consistent with the production-oriented principles of NAICS.

For exports, other options for mapping HS codes to NAICS codes, such as basing the mapping on industries that only export the goods or industries that wholesale the goods, are not retained as they are not consistent with the production-oriented principles of NAICS.

International merchandise trade data categorized by NAICS are also produced within the Trade by Exporter Characteristics - Goods (TEC) and Trade by Importer Characteristics - Goods (TIC) programs. Results from these programs are based on linkages between trade data for individual importers and exporters and business characteristics (including primary NAICS industry) contained within the Statistics Canada Business Register. As a result of the contrasting methods used in the TEC and TIC programs and Canadian international merchandise trade by industry for all countries, results by NAICS will not be comparable, with differences particularly evident for imports.

Reference period: Month

Collection period: Calendar month

Subjects

• Economic accounts
• International trade
• Merchandise exports
• Merchandise imports

Data sources and methodology

Target population

Canadian merchandise import and export data are recompiled according to the industry of origin. The term "industry" refers to a group of businesses that produce the same or similar products. These groups are defined by the NAICS codes. For example, the industry group 3361 comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing motor vehicles. Establishments that manufacture chassis and then assemble complete motor vehicles (including truck cab and chassis assemblies) and those that only manufacture motor vehicle chassis are both classified in this industry group.

Instrument design

This methodology does not apply.

Sampling

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

Data sources

Data are extracted from administrative files.

Import data are collected via electronic transmission of data from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to Statistics Canada on a weekly basis. When goods are imported into Canada, B3 forms must be submitted to the CBSA and include the description and value of the merchandise, the country of origin, port of clearance, the mode of transport used, etc. The country of origin is the country where the goods are mined, grown, or manufactured or where the final stage of transformation takes place.

Data for exports to the United States are collected via electronic transmission of the United States Census Bureau data according to a memorandum of understanding between Canada and the United States. Since 1990, Canada and the United States have exchanged import data; the import data of one partner country are used to derive the export data of the other. This procedure is used for all of Canada's exports to the United States except exports of natural gas and electricity. For more information on the methodology for natural gas and electricity exports, please see 2201 - Canadian International Merchandise Trade (Customs Basis).

Data for Canada's exports to non-US destinations are compiled by Statistics Canada from Customs forms filed electronically using the CBSA's Canadian Export Reporting System (CERS) software, G7 Electronic Data Interchange Export Reporting program, or Export Summary Reporting program. The CBSA electronically transmits export data to Statistics Canada on a daily basis.

Error detection

The program is based on a concordance of HS codes to NAICS codes. Every year for exports and every month for imports, HS codes may be birthed or terminated. The history of HS codes and their association to NAICS codes were validated through time with the successive amendments to the two classifications.

Business rules were performed on both import and export HS to NAICS concordances. For example, where there are distribution factors, they must sum to one.

The values obtained by NAICS groupings are confronted with other published customs-basis trade values to ensure consistency.

Imputation

Any imputations that are required are accounted for within the activities of the customs-basis merchandise trade data program. Please see 2201 - Canadian International Merchandise Trade (Customs Basis).

Estimation

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Quality evaluation

Totals of imports and exports by industry must match totals of imports and exports by the HS classification and by the North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) on a customs basis.

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.

For more information related to disclosure control, please see 2201 - Canadian International Merchandise Trade (Customs Basis).

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Since Canadian imports and exports by industry are a recompilation by NAICS of Canadian imports and exports by commodity, the data are subject to the same revision process as customs-basis Canadian international merchandise trade data. NAICS-based statistics are not seasonally adjusted.

Data accuracy

The statistical program is derived from a mapping of HS codes to NAICS codes. Every effort is made to ensure that each HS code in the concordance is assigned to the right NAICS grouping. The administrative data used to recompile imports and exports by industry are considered to be complete and accurate. Any anomalies or inconsistencies detected are verified with the source, and where necessary, adjustments are made to reconcile data with the conceptual framework of the series.