Posts Tagged ‘Economy’

December 16th, 2011

Exporters, are you still optimistic about 2012?

Last May I published a blog about renewed enthusiasm for exports. Unfortunately, the economic news have been anything but good since then: the financial crisis has deepened in Europe, U.S. unemployment is at a standstill, the financial markets are collapsing, the U.S. is again contemplating a “Buy American” clause in its new recovery plan, a double-dip recession is a growing possibility, the Canadian dollar is anything but stable, and the list goes on. It’s hard to be optimistic these days.

I was therefore rather surprised to read the EDC’s fall 2011 global export forecast in which Peter Hall and his team maintain their bullish spring outlook for Canadian exports for both this year and next. EDC predicts, among other things that “the world economy will capitalize on the current increase in underlying activity, and continue to find remedies for the shocks and weaknesses that beset near-term growth, tiding the economy through to better times” (page 5). As such, EDC is projecting positive growth for global GDP and for Canadian exports in 2011 and 2012. Thus, Canadian exports will increase by 12% in 2011, the same as in 2010, and 7% in 2012. The figures for Quebec are 4% for this year and 7% in 2012. (more…)

December 20th, 2010

World Café – an effective consulting tool for public organizations and business

In September, we held our first World Café, an innovative approach designed to fuel thinking and creativity within companies.

While this type of more approach is more commonly used in technology companies, we decided to apply it to more conventional sectors, i.e. a para-municipal organization in search of new ideas from traditional industries. And to my pleasant surprise, it worked!

We invited manufacturing, life sciences and IT firms to get together to discuss four issues. To give you an idea of how you can get a discussion going, here are the questions that we asked:

  1. Do BRIC countries represent a threat or an opportunity? Why?
  2. According to your understanding of the global economy, how can companies succeed in the next two years?
  3. What support can the International Business Centre offer to help you increase your sales abroad?
  4. Would you like to benefit from the experience of other Laval firms active in the global market place?

The end result was that the companies involved liked the formula and enjoyed the discussion. For our part, we learned more about them so that we can now adapt our service offer to their changing reality.

So, if you’re looking to develop new ideas with your team and build closer ties with your customers and partners,  I strongly recommend that you try this approach. In today’s economy, companies and organizations like ours have no choice but to re-invent themselves.

Lastly thank you to Pyxis for having shared this approach with us!

Véronique Proulx

July 8th, 2010

EDC’S 2010 export forecast

Each spring, Export Development Canada (EDC) publishes its Global Export Forecast for the year ahead. EDC’s vice-president and chief economist, Peter G. Hall, then embarks on a nationwide tour, presenting the analysis at always well-attended luncheon conferences. This forecast has become a reference in Canadian international trade and a highly useful tool for those involved in international business development, helping them set priorities and plan their activities for the year.

The following are a few highlights that could be of interest to Laval SME leaders:

-         EDC predicts global growth of 3.7% in 2010, a huge improvement from the 1.1% recorded last year. Still, EDC refuses to call it a recovery given the many risks still threatening the world economy, for instance, the maturation of huge stimulus measures, instability on the financial and commodity markets, fear of inflation, and a potential new wave of protectionism.

-         Within NAFTA, Mexico is expected to post the strongest GDP growth, projected at 3.5% in 2010 and 4% in 2011. Globally, BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India China) will dominate, with China and India leading the way. Solid gains are also expected in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

-         After a tough year in 2009, Canadian merchandise exports should rebound to the tune of 13% this year.  Québec exports are projected to increase 9% in 2010, placing it seventh among the Canadian provinces.

-         The EDC predicts a 22% jump in Canadian merchandise exports to Brazil, the sharpest growth among the principal trading countries. Last year, exports to Brazil represented a mere 0.4% all Canadian merchandise exports and had tumbled 41.4% from 2008. What this means is that Canadian companies would do well to establish stronger business ties with this now indispensable market.

-         U.S.-bound exports should also improve, picking up 14%. Given the relative importance of this market (75%) for Canadian exporters, this bit of news is encouraging.

-         As regards industries, exports will increase mostly in energy, commodities, and vehicles and auto parts. Aeronautics, the only sector where exports grew last year, and agrifood, will be the only two with negative growth in 2010.

After reading this analysis, I noticed that the activities we have planned for 2010 fit in well with these forecasts. In fact, we just recently returned from a very successful mission to Mexico and are in the process of organizing others for the fall, namely to China and Brazil. We will also be very proactive on the U.S. market, which is still the number one destination for most Laval exports. When you return from vacation, make sure to check out our fall program – it’s packed with activities!

You can read the Global Export Forecast on the EDC Web site.

Bruno Séguin