Windows and Doors Review — 2006

• Shipments
• International Trade
• Canadian Exports to the United States
• Canadian Exports to Offshore Markets
• Exports by Province
• Imports
• Special Feature: Foreign Competition in the U.S. Market
• Construction in Canada
• Construction in Japan
• Construction in United States
• Links to Useful Websites

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2006 — Year in Review

Shipments

In 2006, Canadian shipments of wood and metal windows and doors were $3.7 billion, a 10.5 percent decrease compared to 2005. Metal window and door shipments went from $2.29 billion in 2005 to $1.92 billion in 2006, a 16 percent decrease. Wood window and door shipments went from $1.88 billion in 2005 to $1.80 billion in 2006, a 4 percent decrease. Shipment data for vinyl windows and doors are not available.

Figure 1: Canadian Window and Door Shipments

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International Trade

Total Canadian window and door exports also declined in 2006 to $1.21 billion. Weaker demand from the United States (U.S.), which accounts for 95 percent of the total window and door exports, contributed to this downturn.

The vinyl window and door sub-sector was the most affected, with a decrease in exports of 8 percent, to $182 million. Wood window and door exports decreased by 3.5 percent to $578 million. Metal windows and doors, however, experienced an overall growth of close to 4 percent, reaching $453 million. This growth took place more specifically in aluminum windows and doors (28 percent), while iron and steel window and door exports decreased by 10 percent.

The wood sub-sector is the largest exporter, with almost 48 percent of total exports in 2006. Metal windows and doors account for about 37 percent of exports, and vinyl windows and doors account for the remaining 15 percent.

Figure 2: Canadian Window and Door Exports

Figure 3: Window and Door Exports by Type

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Canadian Exports to the United States

Window and door exports to the U.S. declined by 2 percent in 2006. However, the U.S. still accounts for almost 95 percent of total exports, with a value of $1.15 billion.

The U.S. Northeast is the largest regional market, accounting for 34 percent of U.S. imports of Canadian doors and windows. It was also the only growing regional market in 2006, importing $387 million worth of merchandise, 12 percent more than in 2005. New York, the largest market both in this region and in all of the U.S., imported $121 million in 2006, a decrease of 3.6 percent compared to 2005. The 2006 growth in the Northeast was mostly due to other important states such as Massachusetts ($103 million), New Jersey ($56 million) and Pennsylvania ($45 million).

The second largest regional market is the U.S. South, with $287 million worth of imports from Canada in 2006, a 12 percent drop from 2005. Georgia remained the leading market in the region, although its imports declined by 1.6 percent to $121 million. Florida went against the region's trend in 2006, with imports of $52 million, almost 12 percent more than in 2005. Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia are other important markets in the South, but all declined in 2006.

Canadian window and door exports to the U.S. Midwest fell to $247 million in 2006, a 7.2 percent decrease compared to 2005. While Michigan became the most important Midwest market, growing by 4.2 percent and reaching $63 million, Minnesota and Wisconsin's markets shrunk by 3.5 percent and 7.9 percent respectively in 2006. Exports to Illinois increased by 18.2 percent, to $34 million.

Finally, the U.S. West imported 2.1 percent less windows and doors from Canada in 2006, for a value of $222 million. However, performance varied for individual states. Washington became the most important Western state, increasing its imports by 19.7 percent to $82 million in 2006. Other important states in the region are California at $63 million and Oregon at $25 million, which had an annual increase of 26.4 percent in 2006.

Canadian Exports of Windows and Doors to the Top 20 U.S. Market
(Canadian Thousands of Dollars)

Rank	State	2005	2006	% Change
Source: Statistics Canada
1	New York	125 832	121 311	-3.6
2	Georgia	122 765	120 860	-1.6
3	Massachusetts	72 743	103 313	42.0
4	Washington	68 441	81 963	19.8
5	California	79 750	63 031	-21.0
6	Michigan	60 474	63 025	4.2
7	Minnesota	60 925	58 766	-3.5
8	New Jersey	39 059	56 378	44.3
9	Florida	46 229	51 701	11.8
10	Pennsylvania	41 282	45 299	9.7
11	Wisconsin	38 417	35 377	-7.9
12	Illinois	28 852	34 099	18.2
13	Ohio	32 668	28 305	-13.4
14	Oregon	19 608	24 787	26.4
15	Connecticut	33 047	23 592	-28.6
16	Maryland	18 683	17 493	-6.4
17	North Carolina	28 880	17 177	-40.5
18	Virginia	30 577	15 961	-47.8
19	Colorado	19 157	14 951	-22.0
20	Texas	15 022	14 929	-0.6

Figure 4: Window and Door Exports to the U.S. by Region

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Canadian Exports to Offshore Markets

Offshore markets accounted for 5.5 percent or $67 million of Canadian window and door exports in 2006. Total offshore exports increased by 4 percent from 2005 to 2006, in spite of downtrends in both major offshore markets, Japan and the United Kingdom. Mexico is now in third place with a 175 percent growth in imports, pushing France's declining market to fourth place. Caribbean countries like Bermuda, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Turks and Caicos Islands were all growing markets in 2006. However, Cayman Islands and Dominican Republic, which experienced very strong growth in 2005, had significant declines in their imports in 2006. Iceland and Sweden made their way into the top 20 offshore markets with unusually high imports of Canadian windows and doors in 2006.

Top 20 Offshore Importers of Canadian Prefabricated Buildings
(Canadian Thousands of Dollars)

Rank	Country	2005	2006	% Change
Source: Statistics Canada
1	Japan	7 445	6 717	-9.8
2	United Kingdom	7 698	6 358	-17.4
3	Mexico	2 259	6 222	22.0
4	France	5 842	4 844	-17.1
5	Bermuda	3 587	4 645	29.5
6	Jamaica	2 215	2 703	22.0
7	South Korea	2 327	2 380	2.3
8	Trinidad and Tobago	1 446	2 194	51.8
9	China	1 999	1 918	-4.1
10	Cayman Islands	2 770	1 893	-31.7
11	Turks and Caicos Islands	1 385	1 859	34.2
12	Poland	2 198	1 753	-20.2
13	Netherlands	1 677	1 554	-7.3
14	Iceland	430	1 542	258.2
15	Finland	1 533	1 453	-5.2
16	Latvia	1 246	1 205	-3.3
17	Dominican Republic	1 987	1 088	-45.2
18	Sweden	217	1 029	374.3
19	United Arab Emirates	1 509	974	-35.5
20	Ireland	1,191	807	-32.2

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Exports by Province

Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia accounted for 83 percent of the total Canadian window and door exports in 2006. Quebec and Alberta were the only provinces for which exports grew compared to 2005, by 12 and 80 percent respectively. Ontario's exports declined by 14 percent and British Columbia's exports remained stable.

Figure 5: Window and Door Exports by Province, 2006

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Imports

Imports rose by 9 percent in 2006, to a level of $412 million. Of that total the United States accounted for 82 percent of all imports or close to $340 million. China is the second largest source of window and door imports with $31 million or 8 percent of total imports. Imports from China grew by 45 percent from 2005 to 2006.

Figure 6: Window and Door Imports