The value of manufacturing shipments grew by 14.5% in 2003 to $2.88 billion. Growth was entirely in durable goods manufacturing which increased a whopping 93.4% to $941 million, mainly the result of development activity related to White Rose and Voisey’s Bay. The value of non-durable goods, which accounts for close to 70% of manufacturing shipments, decreased by 4.5% to $1.94 billion. The major manufactured products are food products (mostly seafood), newsprint, refined petroleum, and fabricated metal products. Manufacturers also produce a wide variety of other commodities including: boats, computer and electronic products, and concrete products. The manufacturing sector accounted for 6.2% of GDP in 2002 and 7.2% of employment in 2003.
The bulk of manufactured goods are bound for export markets where local firms have little control over the prices they receive. Products are often priced in U.S. dollars while firms pay most of their expenses in Canadian dollars. This means that an appreciation of the Canadian dollar, all else equal, translates into reduced revenues and profit margins for exporters.
Local manufacturers continue to improve productivity in order to remain competitive in world markets. Generally, productivity gains result in reduced labour requirements per unit of output. Thus, while the value of shipments increased, employment in the manufacturing sector declined by 8.8% in 2003 to 15,600. Manufacturing employment in the province is highly seasonal with peak employment occurring in the summer months (see chart). This is primarily due to the dominance of seafood processing—about 70% of temporary manufacturing employment is in seafood. |
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Come-by-Chance Oil Refinery
Photo Credit: Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency
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