Canada's trade surplus narrows on falling lumber prices

Softwood lumber sits in stacks at the Groupe Crete Inc. sawmill in Chertsey, Quebec, Canada, on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. Lumber futures for November delivery rose $12.10, or 3%, to $414.70 per 1,000 board feet on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange after jumping by the maximum. , Bloomberg

Shelly Hagan, Bloomberg News

Sep 2, 2021

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Canada’s trade surplus with the rest of the world narrowed in July as lumber exports plunged.

The country’s merchandise trade surplus was $778 million (US$617 million) in July from a revised $2.6 billion in June. Economists were predicting a surplus of $1.7 billion in July, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

Exports rose 0.6 per cent, hitting a record $53.7 billion. Exports of lumber and other sawmill products dropped 24 per cent on lower prices.

Imports rose 4.2 per cent, also to a record, on the back of a surge in car shipments.