Research Guide:

Canadian Industry Sources

Return to Canadian Industry Research Strategies

To research your industry, you need to keep in mind four basic questions:

1.      What is the current state of your industry?
         (e.g. growing, declining, stable?)

2.      What are the future trends of your industry?
     (e.g. product developments, outsourcing, new services?)

3.      Who is your competition?

4.      What are their products, services and prices?

 

Statistics Canada

The first place to start researching your industry is the annual Stats Can publication Market Research Handbook.  This publication is a collection of key socio-economic statistics at both the national and local level.  It is most effective when you use it to direct your research to other more detailed Statistics Canada publications.  Think of it as a catalogue with examples.  If you find a statistic useful for your business research, that is fantastic!  If you do not find anything, do not be discouraged.  Many of the tables provide only highlight information. 

When you find data that is close to what you are looking for, use the references indicated below every table for further investigation.  If you conduct your research in a full depository library, it will merely be a matter of going to another shelf for a detailed publication more appropriate to your needs.  You can also contact Statistics Canada directly or GDSourcing to find out what type of unpublished data are available for retrieval.  There is always a charge for such unpublished data, but in some cases the cost is not prohibitive.

Another excellent way for assessing overall industry growth is to examine Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by industry.  By comparing previous years and calculating the annual percentage change between them you can calculate your sector's growth rate.  Calculate percentage change by taking the current GDP subtracting the previous GDP then divide by previous GDP and multiply by 100.

For example: The GDP for Accommodation and foodservices in 2003 was $22,736 million (1997 constant dollars) and in 2004 $23,251 million.  Therefore the percentage growth was:

When you compare these figures with overall economic performance, you can determine whether your industry sector is outperforming or lagging behind overall economic growth.  For example the overall GDP growth in 2004 was 3.0%.  This indicates that the Accommodation and foodservices sector lagged behind the economy as a whole.  This is a sign that there were some difficulties in this sector.

Examine your industry’s growth rate over the last five years.  Has growth been stable? Is it declining?  Building?  Combine this information with forecasts for your sector (See Research Guide on Forecasts).  Are the growth trends you observe over the last 5 years expected to continue?  Talk to people in your industry - your competitors, suppliers and related businesses - to find out how they interpret sector performance.

You will note that data for retail and wholesale GDP is not broken down by individual business types.  Look at related manufacturing data to get a basic understanding of sector performance.  Also use retail sales and  import / export data

Other sources available from Statistics Canada covering industry performance include Financial and Taxation Statistics for Enterprises and Quarterly Financial Statistics for Enterprises.  Each of these publications presents an overview of business sector performance.  They include balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in financial position and ratio data.  The quarterly data covers 22 financial and non-financial sectors while the annual publication examines 67 sectors.

The success of any industry depends on its people.  Another way to determine the strength and growth trends of a particular sector is to examine employee lay-off or hiring rates.  The Statistics Canada monthly survey of  Employment Earnings and Hours allows you to do this. You can access this data via the above free publication or through the CANSIM tables 281-0023 to 281-0046.  Greater industry detail is provided within the CANSIM tables but of course the publication is free!  For more information on CANSIM click here.

Calculate the year over year percentage change in employment (current year subtract previous year divide by previous year and multiply by 100).  Is the labour force of your industry expanding, indicating growth or is it shrinking.  You will want to find out if changes are due to increased productivity or lay-offs.  Also compare hours worked as well as changes in overall salaries and wages. Again present your findings to someone within your industry to gain some perspective on what the data means.

For further industry specific resources from Statistics Canada see our Source Lists.

Industry Canada

The most comprehensive Canadian business information source on the Internet is the Industry Canada site.  This site is a phenomenal source of business information.  It has company directories, statistical industry overviews, research papers, business information by sector, trade data market information and much more.  You can either search the entire site or browse by industry sector.  The data available here tends to be stronger for the manufacturing sector, but all types of business are represented in one way or another. 

Also see the Industry Canada SME Benchmarking Tool web site. These site provides access to financial profiles of small businesses (grossing under $5 million) by specific industry (5 digit NAICS) and province, for both incorporated and unincorporated businesses.  A balance sheet and income statement divided into income quartiles is available for each industry.  The profile allows you to assess the strength of your own sector or a sector you have identified as a business market for your product/service.

Some of the more insightful variables in this database include:

•  Advertising expenditures
  (What does a business in your industry typically spend on advertising?)
  

• Rent
  

• Cost of goods sold
  

• Number of employees
  (What size of workforce is most common for your type of businesses?)
  

• Accounts Receivable in Days
  (How long does it take you to get paid?  This data is vital for organizing your cash flow.  In some industries 90 days is the norm.  If you are not prepared for that kind of time lag in income, it could prove disastrous.)

While the SME Benchmarking Tool profiles also include financial ratios, the data is limited and a little dated.  2004 data was released in 2007 and will not be updated to 2006 data until 2009.  For more current and detailed financial benchmarks see our Financial Ratios guide. 

For further industry specific resources from Industry Canada see our Source Lists.

GDSourcing

Our original GDSourcing web site is a excellent reference point for Canadian statistics available on the Internet.  Canadian web sites containing statistical data have been catalogued and divided by industry sector.  A summary of the data available at each site is provided in a Site Summary.  Your own data search therefore becomes immediately focused.  You know before you click on a link that you are going to find the information you need.  To further assist you with your research, the GDSourcing web site also has a subject index and a keyword search engine.

Working in Canada

If you find that the nature of your business is such that it does not fit easily into any industry sector it is possible that your business more closely resembles an outsourced occupation rather than an industry.  In these cases try consulting the Working in Canada site

It provides information on occupation demand outlooks and salaries.

Bankruptcy Statistics

A clear indicator of an industry’s strength are its bankruptcy statistics.  The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy provides free access to bankruptcy statistics by major industry grouping, province and major urban centre. 

If you contact the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy directly they can also provide you with bankruptcy data by detailed industry classification.  Unfortunately this detail is not available online.

Search All Affordable Sources at Once
(Government & Non-government)

The fastest way to access a wide variety of sources organized by industry sector is to use our Source Lists.  They contain references to current government and non-government reports that can be accessed free of charge (in most cases) or for a low cost.  We do NOT reference any of the $1000 reports you will find elsewhere scattered on the Internet.

Start with with your major industry sector and then search or browse the appropriate subsectors.

Finally many of the sources consulted to research the business market are the same ones that you will use for your industry research. You can and should conduct both at the same time. Look at the Business Market Research Guide for more industry research suggestions.

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URL: http://www.gdsourcing.com/ResearchGuides/Industry-Sources.html
REVIEWED: 02/22/2011j
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