Canadian international merchandise trade, November 2019

Canada's merchandise exports declined 1.4% in November to $48.7 billion, while imports were down 2.4% to $49.8 billion. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $1.6 billion in October to $1.1 billion in November.

Widespread declines across export and import products coincided with disruptions in Canadian rail transportation. Customs basis data for November (not seasonally adjusted) showed a stronger decline in trade by rail compared with data for the same month in recent years. This was particularly true for exports, where the 2019 figure was the lowest November value since 2013. Rail is also an important mode for inland shipment within Canada for goods arriving or exiting by other modes of transportation...

This has been excerpted from a 7 January 2020 release by Statistics Canada.