NORTH AMERICAN OUTLOOK
Allied Products; Textile Mills; Paper Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Transportation Equipment; Primary Metals; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; and Plastics & Rubber Products. The only industry reporting a decrease in September compared to August is Wood Products. Comments from the manufacturing industry again stress difficulties of material availability and cost, port congestion, lack of containers, and truck haulage. The labor shortage is still as critical, with a Fabricated Metal Products comment referring to the necessity to outsource machining due to a lack of qualified machinists. Commodities up in price Adhesives (3); Aluminum (16); Aluminum Extrusions (2); Aluminum Products (6); Caustic Soda (4); Copper; Corrugate (12); Corrugated Packaging (11); Diesel Fuel (9); Electrical Components (10); Electrical Motors (3); Electronic Components (10); Foam; Freight (11); High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) (9); Labor — Temporary (5); Logistics Services;
Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) Supplies; Natural Gas (3); Ocean Freight (10); Packaging Supplies (10); Pallets (3); Paper; Plastic Containers; Plastic Resins (13); Polyethylene (8); Polypropylene (15); Resins; Resin-Based Products (8); Rubber-Based Products (2); Semiconductors (8); Solvents; Steel (14); Steel — Carbon (10); Steel — Cold Rolled (2); Steel — Drums; Steel — Galvanized; Steel — Hot Rolled (13); Steel — Stainless (11); Steel Products (13); Surfactants; and Tires. Commodities down in price Lumber (3); Steel — Scrap; and Wood (2) Commodities in short supply Adhesives and Paints (3); Aluminum (6); Aluminum Products (5); Corrugated Packaging (3); Electrical Components (12); Electronic Components (10); Freight; Harnesses; Labor — Temporary (5); Nylon 6,6 Polymer; Ocean Freight (6); Plastic Containers; Plastic Products (8); Plastic Resins — Other (7); Plastic Totes; Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Plastics; Printed Circuit Board Assemblies (2); Resin-Based Products (2); Rubber-Based Products (2); Semiconductors (10); Steel (10); Steel — Hot Rolled (11); Steel — Stainless (7); and Steel Products (8). Note: The number of consecutive months the commodity is listed is indicated after each item. CANADA’s manufacturing industry showed solid growth in September in new orders and production; albeit, slightly moderated from August. There was continuing solid growth in
employment. Backlogs increased at the joint-fastest rate in survey history, with record rates of production, and input price inflation. There were increases in pre-production inventories. Prices of steel, oil and transportation increased at record rates. September’s PMI at 57.0 was very slightly lower than August’s 57.2. There was strong demand in both Canada and the U.S. There was material scarcity, a shortage of containers, freight delays, and ongoing lengthening of supplier deliveries. There were difficulties finding labor to deal with a jointrecord rate of backlog accumulation. There is a high level of positive sentiment that production will increase over the coming twelve months. Light vehicle sales in Canada for September were down 19.6 percent year-over-year, at 136,584 vehicles, versus 169,876 one year ago. Ford and Stellantis lost further market share, while Toyota, Kia and VW saw notable sales gains. MEXICO continues to suffer bad news, with factory production falling further in September, and production and new orders down for the 19th consecutive month, but at a slower and only moderate rate reduction. There was a reduction in employment and input purchasing. Export sales were down. The PMI for September, at 48.6, was up from August’s 47.1, but still in contraction for the country. n Amelia Roy, Staff Writer
Manufacturing Outlook / October 2021
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