Explanatory Notes — Trade by Industry

There are two modules in Trade Data Online. One that offers data on trade statistics by product and one that recompiles the trade by product data and reports it by industry.

The primary purpose for the recompilation by industry is to provide a basis for estimating the apparent domestic market for a collection of fabricated goods by combining manufacturing production data with trade data. It should be noted that this type of data integration carries with it a number of potential pitfalls and important limitations.

As explained in the section Types of Trade Statistics, the numbers reported in Trade Data Online cover only merchandise trade clearing customs. Thus, there is no information on Trade in Services on this site.

Industries are classified according to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Because only merchandise trade is covered, there will be data only for the goods-producing industries in the Trade by Industry module. For instance:

• Trade of automotive vehicles or boats will be reported under the industry code for "Transportation Equipment Manufacturing" and not under the code for "Transportation" (since the latter basically regroups only transportation services).
• Similarly, information on imports or exports of computers will be classified under "Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing" and not under any code in the "Information and Cultural Industries" sector.

The Trade by Product module offers data on both Canadian and U.S. trade with other countries. On the other hand, the Trade by Industry module covers only Canadian international trade. Canadian data is provided by Statistics Canada's International Trade Division.