Covid Implications on Canadian Manufacturing

According to a survey by the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), the COVID-19 pandemic affected more than 300 manufacturing businesses recently. While 65% of respondents revealed that their output fell, the demand for the products also decreased with lowered rate of production. With losses of jobs and the disruption of processes, the manufacturing businesses of Canada underwent a great contraction in demand and consumer spending habits as well. With difficulty in predicting demand, manufacturers had to tread through the disruptions in the global supply chains which came with facility closures, trade restrictions, and worker shortages. This contributed to a challenging endeavor for the Canadian manufacturers struggling through the pandemic (Adecco, 2020).

Companies suffered through an aggravated pre-pandemic decline in global trade and several breakdowns along the supply chains. The ordeal of getting PPE at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic provides a major example of how certain businesses turned towards protectionism. However, as Canada’s economy re-opens, the complete recovery of the manufacturing processes would depend on the manufacturers’ ability to fulfill stockpiled orders to secure the distribution and supply chains. Even before the pandemic, completing orders was a concern to deal with shortages and rising expenses to manage the production capacity (LMIC, 2020).