Research Topic

Canadian manufacturing sales posted their biggest percentage drop since the financial crisis in March and economists warned sales are expected to continue to fall in April as the COVID-19 pandemic brought the economy to a crawl.Royal Bank senior economist Nathan Janzen said Thursday that the economic data will also likely get significantly worse in April with containment measures in place for the entire month.“Beyond that, we could see some improvement in May already with social/distancing measures easing in spots, but the drop in activity in March and April is still likely to be staggering, and entirely unprecedented in modern measured economic data,'' Janzen wrote in a brief note.Statistics Canada reported Thursday manufacturing sales fell 9.2% to $50.8 billion in March, the lowest level since June 2016, as factories shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic or faced sharply lower demand.The average estimate by economists was for a drop of 5.7%, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.In volumes terms, manufacturing sales fell 8.3%.Sales fell in 17 of 21 industries led by the transportation equipment industry which plunged 26.5% in March as Canadian auto assembly plants and several parts suppliers in North America cut production.

Several underlying consumer trends have risen to prominence during the COVID-19 crisis, leading to a wave of new behaviours—from online shopping to buying local—that are likely to persist long after the pandemic is over, according to a new study from Accenture.

Canada's national environment agenda is the latest thing to be upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, as plans for both beefing up national climate targets and banning some plastics are likely to be delayed.Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told The Canadian Press this week that the government remains firmly committed to its environmental promises, which were a key part of the Liberal 2019 re-election campaign.

The majority of Canadian consumers believe the convenience industry has stepped up to support communities and front-line workers during the COVID-19 crisis, according to a new survey from the Convenience Industry Council of Canada.

Consumers continued to buy more hand sanitizer, toilet paper, canned goods and baking supplies in April than before the COVID-19 pandemic even as the mid-March shopping frenzy started to die down, according to Statistic Canada's latest data.Retail grocery store sales jumped 40% for the week ending March 21 compared to the same week last year, the agency said in a special report on how shopping patterns have changed since Canada stepped up its COVID-19 public health campaigns.The week prior, sales soared 46%.

The Calgary-based company says that equalled a loss of 53 cents per diluted share, compared with a profit of 52 cents per share or $77 million a year earlier.

New products and a taste for nostalgia make frozen treats cooler than ever Canadians are no longer waiting until summer to indulge in frozen treats.

With stay-at-home measures in place across the country, c-stores are experiencing an unprecedented spike in tobacco sales, in part because First Nations reserves (and their popular smoke shacks) are largely closed to outside visitors Dave Bryans, CEO of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association, estimates that the legal tobacco business is on track to grow by 20-25% while the reserves stay closed and he'd like to see c-stores to hold on to that business once the restrictions are lifted.