Apparent market leaps 14.4% in '02
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, June 2, 2003
Ottawa — The Canadian apparent market for furniture and bedding grew more than 14.4% in 2002, hitting an all-time high of C$4.05 billion, according to data published by Statistics Canada.
It was the first time that the apparent market broke the C$4 billion mark and its sixth consecutive year of growth.
The apparent market is the value of total manufacturing shipments, less exports, plus imports, valued at wholesale prices — that is, before retail markups and national sales taxes, which in Canada average 15%.
Canadian manufacturers set new highs not only for total shipments and exports but they also saw sales to Canadian retailers jump 13.9% in 2002 to a record-setting C$2.61 billion.
The industry's fastest-growing segment was case goods, which saw shipments jump 21.8% to C$2.51 billion last year after a relatively lackluster couple of years when sales hovered around the C$2.06 billion mark. While exports of case goods were flat last year, gaining only 1%, sales to Canadian retailers skyrocketed 60% from C$658.7 million in 2001 to C$1.1 billion last year.
Upholstery had a banner year in 2002, advancing 8.9% to C$1.06 billion — a new high. However, growth was almost totally export-driven last year as domestic shipments rose only 4.3% to C$601.9 million, compared to the C$576.9 million sold in 2001.
Bedding also posted nice gains with shipments increasing 8.3% to C$586.7 million. This category remains almost totally immune from the ebbs and flows of cross-border trade — 99% of all bedding sold in Canada is made here.
The only segment posting a decline was furniture made of metal, wicker, rattan and other materials — this group suffered a 17.4% drop in shipments last year, which came in at C$603.6 million.
Canadian retailers also purchased more imported goods last year than ever before. Imports rose 15.2% to C$1.44 billion — the bulk of that coming from the United States and China.
| The Canadian market for household furniture and bedding, 2002 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| In millions of current Canadian dollars | |||
| 2002 | 2001 | Percent change | |
| Based on NAICS 337910, 337121, 337123, 337126 The apparent market is total shipments, less total exports, plus total imports, all measured in wholesale prices. Sources: Statistics Canada and Industry Canada |
|||
| Total industry shipments | $4,760 | $4,307 | 10.5% |
| Total exports | $2,153 | $2,018 | 6.7% |
| Exports to the U.S. | $2,036 | $1,911 | 6.5% |
| Total imports | $1,443 | $1,252 | 15.2% |
| Imports from the U.S. | $489 | $509 | -3.9% |
| Total domestic shipments | $2,607 | $2,289 | 13.9% |
| Apparent market1 | $4,051 | $3,541 | 14.4% |
| Balance of furniture trade | $710 | $766 | -7.4% |
| U.S. share of total exports | 94.6% | 94.7% | |
| U.S. share of total imports | 33.9% | 40.6% | |
