Canadian International Merchandise Trade (Customs Basis)

Canadian International Merchandise Trade (Customs Basis)
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Detailed information for January 2026

Status:

Active

Frequency:

Monthly

Record number:

2201

Purpose: To provide statistical information and analysis of the value of Canada's customs-basis merchandise exports and imports by commodity, province or territory, partner country, and other relevant dimensions.

Data release - March 12, 2026

Description

Information on imports and exports are inputs into the Canadian Macroeconomic Accounts, particularly in the Balance of Payments and Gross Domestic Product, and are used in the formulation of trade and economic policies. Governments, importers, exporters, manufacturers and shipping companies use trade statistics to monitor import penetration and export performance, identify market opportunities, monitor commodity price and volume changes, and examine transport implications of trade flows.

Statistical activity

This activity is part of the Canadian International Merchandise Trade (CIMT) Program. While the objective of the customs-basis data is to measure the change in the stock of material resources of Canada resulting from the movement of merchandise into or out of the country, the primary objective of this statistical program is to measure the economic transactions that involve merchandise trade between residents and non-residents.

The closing of the statistical month for imports and exports is defined as the last calendar day of the month based on the date of clearance from Customs. Documents received too late for incorporation in the current month are assigned to the month the transaction took place and are published as revisions the following statistical month.

Additional information about the CIMT Program is available through the link that follows.

Reference period: Month

Collection period: Calendar month

Subjects

  • Balance of international payments
  • Economic accounts
  • International trade
  • Merchandise exports
  • Merchandise imports

Data sources and methodology

Target population

Canadian merchandise imports and exports.

Instrument design

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Sampling

The administrative data collected in this program are a census. Data are collected for all units of the target population, therefore no sampling is done.

Data sources

Data are extracted from administrative files.

In general, merchandise trade statistics are compiled from administrative records used by Customs agencies to facilitate and oversee the flow of goods across the frontier.

Customs-basis import statistics are compiled from Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Commercial Accounting Declaration (CAD) forms, which replaced the B3 Canada Customs Coding forms in October 2024. When goods are imported into Canada, CAD forms must be submitted to the CBSA and include the description and value of the merchandise, their place of origin, port of clearance, the mode of transport used, etc. The CBSA electronically transmits import data from the CAD documents to Statistics Canada on a daily basis.

Canadian export data are received from multiple sources; they are compiled by Statistics Canada prior to publication.

Data for Canada's exports to countries other than the United States are compiled from Customs declarations submitted to the CBSA. Exporters shipping to non-US destinations are required to submit declarations for their merchandise with the CBSA. Exporters may file declarations 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.

Data for Canada's exports to the United States are compiled using United States import statistics based on declarations submitted to the United States Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) and received via the United States Census Bureau (USCB). 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 which data from these sources are not received from the USCB. Data for these two commodities are estimated for the current and previous months and are subsequently replaced as survey and administrative data become available.

For natural gas exports, data from third party sources and trends in historical data from Statistics Canada's Monthly Crude Oil and Natural Gas (MCONG) Program are used to estimate growth rates for the most recent two months, with the relative increases to price and volume applied to the most recent MCONG results available. Values are implicitly calculated from the price and volume. Estimated data are replaced with MCONG statistics once these become available. For electricity exports, ARIMA models are used to forecast the price and volume for the most recent two months, with Canada Energy Regulator (CER) monthly data from the previous 7 years used as inputs. Forecast movements for electricity price and volume are applied to the actual CER data most recently received to arrive at the value published for the current and previous months. Estimated data are replaced with values from CER export reports once these become available.

Import and export values are disseminated in Canadian dollars and can require conversion from reported currencies. Foreign currencies are converted using the Bank of Canada monthly average based on the daily end-of-day rates.

For data on Canada's exports to the United States, imports must be reported to the USCBP in US dollars for accounting. In turn, these data (in US dollars) are transmitted to the USCB which converts them to Canadian dollars prior to transmission to Statistics Canada.

Error detection

Business rules, validation edits, combination edits, and unit value edits are performed on both import and export micro data during the edit and imputation process.

Business rules are applied to remove out-of-scope transactions, recode incorrect information, or identify transactions for manual review.

Validation edits and combination edits are also applied. Validity checks ensure that a reported variable respects its defined characteristics, e.g., numeric variables are reported as numeric or that valid codes have been provided. Combination edits ensure that logic is maintained between related variables. Edits are normally immediately followed by a corresponding imputation.

Unit value edits may be applied during processing. For each Harmonized System (HS) code, unit values are evaluated, with outliers flagged and the quantity imputed to produce unit values that fall within an expected range.

Imputation

Both manual and automated imputations are performed on import and export data. If manual corrective action is required, a follow-up with the importer, exporter or their representative may be carried out.

Estimation

Estimates for customs-basis import data that will be received after collection deadlines are calculated for the current month and are typically removed or adjusted in subsequent releases in accordance with the actual data received. Estimates are based on historical patterns and trends reflected in other sources obtained by Statistics Canada. Placeholder estimates are intended to address high-level aggregates and are not fully reflected across disaggregated product categories within the classifications used to publish merchandise import statistics. Following the implementation of the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) digital initiative in October 2024 and regulatory changes affecting certain submission deadlines, these monthly late arrival estimates generally reflect larger data volumes being received after collection deadlines.

Data for customs-basis exports of natural gas and electricity are estimated for the current and previous months and subsequently replaced as survey and administrative data become available, as described above under the "Data sources" heading.

Quality evaluation

Transaction-level data are aggregated and subjected to month-over-month and year-over-year analysis to detect errors and explain observed movements.

The models used to seasonally adjust data are reviewed annually by the Economic Statistics Methods Division of Statistics Canada.

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.

The CIMT Program of Statistics Canada is similar to the statistical programs of most other countries in its use of the 'passive suppression' approach for confidentiality with Customs administrative data. Passive suppression requires that appropriate measures be taken only at the request of importers or exporters who feel that their interests would be harmed by the dissemination of data. The onus of notifying the CIMT Program of suspected instances of the release of confidential data rests with the affected importers or exporters. After receiving and reviewing such requests, data are suppressed if necessary to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Customs-basis merchandise trade data are revised on an ongoing basis for each month of the current year. The previous year's data are revised with the release of the January and February reference months as well as on a quarterly basis. The previous two years of customs-basis data are revised annually and are released in February with the December reference month.

Factors influencing revisions include late receipt of import and export documentation, incorrect information on Customs forms, replacement of estimates with actual figures, changes in classification of merchandise based on more current information, and changes to seasonal adjustment factors.

In light of larger data volumes being received after collection deadlines following the implementation of the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) digital initiative, higher revisions to import statistics, notably for the month prior to the most recent reference month, may be observed relative to the period prior to the CARM transition. This is particularly the case within detailed customs-basis statistics, as estimation methods applied are focused mainly on high-level aggregate categories.

Revised data are available in the appropriate data tables and statistical products.

Data accuracy

Merchandise trade statistics are compiled primarily from customs administrative data, which represent a comprehensive and accurate source. Any anomalies or inconsistencies detected are verified with the source where feasible, and adjustments are made to the data if necessary to improve the accuracy of the resulting statistics.

In certain instances, accuracy considerations within customs data have resulted in these figures being replaced with other sources. Exports of energy products are a notable example, as transmission through pipelines and power grids can create challenges for complete and accurate measurement within customs forms. Electricity and natural gas exports rely on alternate sources and compilation methods within both customs-basis and balance of payments-basis statistics. For crude oil exports, statistics compiled from customs forms are replaced on a balance of payments-basis leveraging data from other sources.

The use of estimation mainly within current month statistics may temporarily impact their accuracy until actual results become available within primary source data.

It is possible for the accuracy of customs-basis statistics to be affected by undercoverage and/or country misallocation. Undercoverage occurs when trade is not captured in customs documents. Examples of undercoverage include transactions where the value is below the threshold required for reporting to customs authorities, and the informal or illegal movement of goods across borders. Estimates for undercoverage are included in balance of payments-basis statistics. Country misallocation occurs when the last known destination reported on the customs export documentation does not reflect the ultimate destination for the goods. This occurs most frequently when goods are routed through an intermediary country before continuing to their final destination with the intermediary country being reported as the final destination of the goods.

Documentation

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