2 TRANSPORTATION AND THE ECONOMY

IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPORTATION TO THE CANADIAN ECONOMY

Value-added estimates¹² of output are available for transportation services that are offered on a commercial or for-hire basis. Such estimates do not include transportation services that are operated by a company for its own use, such as private trucking.

Table 2-6 shows the contribution of the different modes to Canada’s GDP in 2006.

In 2006, commercial transportation industries in Canada accounted for $45.8 billion in 1997 dollars, or 4.3 per cent of the value-added GDP, unchanged from 2004. Trucking was the most important industry, making up $15.1 billion, or 1.4 per cent of the total GDP. Air and rail accounted for $4.7 billion, or 0.4 per cent, and $6.0 billion, or 0.6 per cent, respectively. Urban transit accounted for $3.2 billion, or 0.3 per cent of GDP.

¹ Gross Domestic Product at Basic Prices. Return

² Includes scenic and sightseeing, postal and courier services as well as support activties for other modes of transportation such as baggage handling, pilotage, harbour operation and rail car loading and unloading. Return

Source: Statistics Canada Cansim Table 379-0019

TRANSPORTATION-RELATED DEMAND

Table 2-7 shows transportation-related demand as a proportion of GDP.

The total of all transportation expenditures for the final demand of goods accounted for 12.1 per cent of expenditures in Canada’s economy in 2006. Personal expenditures on transportation represented the largest part of transportation-related demand and accounted for 8.4 per cent of GDP. In 2006, these expenditures grew by 5.3 per cent. Transportation equipment purchases, mostly motor vehicles, made up 3.6 per cent of the GDP, while other motor vehicle expenses, including maintenance and repair, fuel and licences, made up another 3.7 per cent. Personal expenditures on commercial transportation made up 1.0 per cent of total GDP. For a more detailed breakdown of personal expenditures for transportation, see Table A2-65 in the Addendum.

In 2006, investment in transportation made up 2.9 per cent of the GDP. The largest part of this was business investment in transportation, which accounted for 2.2 per cent of GDP. Business transportation investment rose by 8.8 per cent as business investment in transportation equipment inventories rose by 140.3 per cent. Government investment is dominated by expenditures on roads. This accounts for 91 per cent of government investment spending on transportation and 0.6 per cent of the GDP. For more detailed information on government transportation spending, see Chapter 3 of this report.

Transportation exports and imports were dominated by automotive trade. In 2006, exports of automotive equipment, including parts, were equivalent to 6.6 per cent of the GDP, while imports were equivalent to 6.9 per cent. Automotive exports fell by 6.0 per cent, while automotive imports rose 1.8 per cent.

Transportation-related domestic demand made up 12.2 per cent of final domestic demand in 2006.

Note: N/A = Not available.

¹2005 figures: growth rates over previous year are growth rates over 2004. Return

Source: Statistics Canada National Income and Expenditure Accounts, Transport Canada

PROVINCIAL AND TERRITORIAL TRANSPORTATION SPENDING

Table 2-8 shows the importance of provincial and territorial commercial transportation¹³ to the Canadian total in 2005. Most of the commercial transportation activity took place in Ontario and Quebec, which together account for 54 per cent of the total commercial transportation measured in the GDP. Alberta and British Columbia together accounted for another 32 per cent. Alberta’s percentage of the national total has grown at the expense of Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.

Note: GDP at basic prices.

¹Includes warehousing. Return

Source: Statistics Canada Cansim Table 379-0025

PERSONAL TRANSPORTATION

In 2005, Canadians spent $114.9 billion on personal transportation. Ontario residents spent 39 per cent of this total, Quebec residents 23 per cent, British Columbia residents 13 per cent, and Alberta residents 11 per cent.

Alberta residents spent an average of $4,291.5 on transportation per capita, the most of any province or territory. Nunavut residents spent the least, only $1,340. Of the other provinces and territories, only Yukon residents spent more than the national average of $3,562.

On average, Canadians spent 15.1 per cent of total personal expenditures on transportation in 2005. New Brunswick, Quebec, Alberta and Yukon residents spent more than 15 per cent of their total personal spending on transportation.

Personal expenditures on transportation represented 8.8 per cent of final domestic demand in Canada in 2005. It was higher in New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario but only 6.2 per cent in the Yukon, 3.6 per cent in the Northwest Territories and 2.1 per cent in Nunavut.

Table 2-9 shows personal expenditures on transportation by province and territory in 2005. Addendum Table A2-66 shows personal expenditures on transportation by product type.

Source: Statistics Canada

¹² A value-added measure of output is referred to as net output and is equivalent to gross output or total sales net of goods and services purchased by a firm as intermediate inputs and includes only primary inputs such as labour. Return

¹³ Due to the unavailability of constant dollar estimates of provincial GDP by industry, only current dollar estimates of transportation are available. The latest year for which they are available is 2003. Due to confidentiality reasons, it is not possible to obtain estimates that do not include warehousing and/or pipelines for 2003. On a national level the pipeline and warehousing industries represented 10.7 and 3.2 per cent of the output of transportation and warehousing sector in 2003. Return

Canadian Economic Performance

International Trade and Trade Flows

Areas of Importance to Transportation

Productivity and Price Performance of Transport

Importance of Transportation to the Canadian Economy