Port congestion so bad that machine and parts orders have been delayed for weeks on end, mud slides wiping out critical road infrastructure and requiring routing workarounds, and border blockades holding billions in trade hostage; it’s been one heck of a winter for Canadian businesses trying to receive necessary raw materials and ship their goods to market.
Seven in 10 Canadian businesses (71.9%) say supply chain challenges have worsened over the last three months of winter and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get better any time soon. Nine in 10 (91.4%) expect supply chain problems to remain the same or deteriorate further into the spring, according to the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions. The impact the Russian invasion of Ukraine is likely to have on base metals and energy pricing is proof of that.
The Canadian Survey of Business Conditions (CSBC) was created in the spring of 2020 by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Statistics Canada to ensure decision makers have timely, relevant data about what businesses are going through and how they are planning for the eventual recovery. The quarterly survey examines issues like the impact COVID-19 on businesses, changes businesses are making to adapt to evolving restrictions, and the challenges they expect to face as the recovery begins.
Businesses say the top three reasons supply chain challenges have worsened are delays in deliveries (84.7%), higher input prices and supply shortages.
Rising costs of doing business, including inputs, labour, capital, energy and raw materials, is the biggest obstacle for businesses over the next three months. 6 in 10 businesses are likely to pass on the rising cost of doing business to customers over the next 12 months. The Canadian industries most likely to pass along costs are accommodation and food services (81.9%), wholesale trade (79.9%), manufacturing (79.9%) and construction (77%).”
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is Canada’s largest business network — representing 450 chambers of commerce and boards of trade and more than 200,000 businesses of all sizes, from all sectors of the economy.
