Mexico: After a strong first quarter, the Mexican economy slowed down in Q2. The monthly growth rate for April was disappointingly low (2.3 percent over last year), but a strong recovery in May (4.5 percent) made up some of the losses from the previous month. Consumer confidence is high--the index in June was the highest since March 2008. The manufacturing sector index decreased slightly in June but still stands at a solid 56. Remittances from Mexican workers overseas, mostly from the US, reached $2.02 billion in June--still 23 percent below the pre-crisis peak of October 2008. Mexico has seen quite an influx of foreign investments into its budding aerospace industry recently. As one example, Bombadier Inc, maker of the Learjet, has had a plant in Queretaro since 2006 that manufactures 85 percent of all composite parts going into the new Learjet 85. Mexico's exports of aerospace equipment will reach $3.5 billion this year.
Canada: Given the economic turmoil of its largest trading partner, the United States, it was no surprise that initial estimates for growth in Q2 point to a seriously slowing economy. Canada was long regarded as a stalwart of growth among the G7 countries, but economic reality is catching up. Economic growth declined in May after staying flat in April. Furthermore, estimates for Q2 are approximately an anemic 0.5 percent--matching growth rates for fellow G7 countries Germany and France. Factory sales fell 1.5 percent in June to their lowest level since November 2010. Another contributing factor to a stalling Canadian economy is the indebtedness of the Canadian consumer which has reached US proportions. In fact, the ratio of debt-to-disposable income sits at a record high level and is even higher than in the US. One noteworthy positive in Canada's economy is that unemployment in July fell to its lowest level since December 2008 as private sector job gains were the strongest in eleven years.
General Data:
GDP latest quarter annual rate compared to previous one and year-year | Consumer Price Index and last year | Industrial Production | Unemployment | Trade Balance past 12 months | Currency to one US$ as of Aug 17 and last year | |
+2.1% Q1 (+4.6%) | +3.3% Jul (+3.6%) | +3.7% Jun | 5.4% Jun | Nil Jun | 12.2 (12.6) | |
+3.9% Q1 (+2.9%) | +3.1% Jun (+1.0%) | +0.7% May | 7.2% Jul | -$ 8.2bn May | 1.02 (1.17) |
Automotive and Steel Production
Total Units July | + - 2010 | Units Year-to-date | + - 2010 | Steel Prod Jun 000/MT | + - 2010 | Year-to-date 000/MT | +- 2010 | |
215,640 | +15.5% | 1,525,940 | +17.1% | 1,686 (e) | +27.9% | 9,195 | +10.0% | |
103,212 | -11.2% | 1,188,423 | -1.1% | 1,100 (e) | +7.5% | 6,615 | +38.0% |
Intra-NAFTA Steel Shipments June 2010 - May 2011 in Thousand Metric Tons
Ttl Intra-NAFTA | From US | From Mexico | From Canada | |
6,511 | 6,099 | 190 | - | |
3,883 | 3,444 | - | 440 | |
8,380 | - | 2,671 | 5,709 |