Eliminating trade barriers key to closing productivity gap

Although Canada has made significant strides in recent years towards eliminating many international tariffs, a significant amount of work still needs to be done in the area of lowering non-tariff barriers that still act as barriers to competition and negatively impact the productivity of many Canadian firms.

That was the key finding in a recent report from the Conference Board of Canada entitled, ''Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts-the Effect of Barriers to Competition on Canadian Productivity.''

The report is based on a survey of 198 Canadian businesses by the Conference Board of Canada.

''Tariffs have been declining to the point where almost 50% of goods entering Canada are duty-free. Canada's participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as regional free trade agreements-notably NAFTA-have led to a significant decline in tariffs over the past 15 years.

''While the tariff burden has declined, there has been less progress in reducing domestic and international non-tariff barriers. Canada has a bewildering array of such barriers, spanning all levels of government and often involving extremely complex regulatory frameworks,'' the study notes.

Non-tariff barriers in Canada include quotas, technical standards, procurement restrictions, licensing and certification requirements, and restrictions on foreign ownership.

''Given the federal system of government, many of these barriers are internal rather than international, and their nature is often opaque.

''Protection of local interests and the complex negotiations required to lower internal non-tariff barriers make achieving an open economic union within Canada a serious challenge,'' the report warns.

According to the report, the majority of the 198 firms that took part in the survey indicated that they faced problems arising from non-tariff barriers to competition in Canada. ''Although standards and regulations were, not surprisingly, the most common barrier cited, procurement policies and restrictions on labour mobility were also high on the list.

''The main impact of non-tariff barriers is to raise not only compliance costs but also costs associated wih reduced innovative capacity and an inefficient size of operations,'' the report states.

Lowering barriers to competition, the study adds, could also help to close the productivity gap beween Canada and the U.S.

''Our empirical results show that barriers to competition affect relative Canada-U.S. productivity in the primary and manufacturing sectors. Thus, lowering barriers to competition in the tradable goods sector could narrow the Canada-U.S. productivity gap.''

In particular, the study indicates that barriers to competition have a negative effect on Canada-U.S. relative productivity for a core group of 16 industries in the primary and manufacturing sectors. Comparing relative producer prices versus relative labour productivity, the study suggests higher barriers to competition exist in Canada for such sectors as fabricated metal, machinery and computer, agriculture, and furniture and related products.

Removing internal non-tariff barriers to competition is a challenge that Canada had better take up sooner rather than later.

These days competition in the global marketplace is fiercer than ever and already offers more than enough roadblocks for Canadian companies. We don't need to set up anymore barriers at home.

Jerry Cook
Editor, MPP
jcook@clbmedia.ca 

For a complete copy of this report, contact the Conference Board of Canada at www.conferenceboard.ca.

Haas demonstration day focuses on technology

A recent technology demonstration day at Haas Factory Outlet, a division of Sirco Machinery Co. Ltd. gave the company a chance to show off the newly reconfigured and expanded showroom of its Toronto, ON facility.

''What we did was move a service bay that we had located in the showroom to a different area of the building. This allowed us to expand the area into a dedicated showroom.

''As a result, now we have the capability to show up to 12 machines under power,'' says Dan Ferko, president of Sirco Machinery.

The demonstration day at the Toronto facility also featured a number of the firm's suppliers of ancillary equipment including tooling, software, and more.

Some of the other suppliers displaying products at the event included, Renishaw (Canada), Mastercam, SGS, Sowa, GibbsCAM, Sandvik, and others. As a result, ''The event has a bit of a
mini-trade show feel to it,'' notes Ferko.

The company also held a technology demonstration day event concurrently at its facility in
Montreal, QC.

The technology demonstration day in Toronto featured a number of machines on display and under power.

In particular, the company used the event as a chance to highlight several new machines including the OM-2A Office Mill.

The Haas Office Mills are designed for companies who are unable to fit a larger machine into their facility.

The Haas Office Mills are designed for high-volume production and/or rapid prototyping of small, high precision 2D or 3D parts.

Another highlight of the demonstration day was a display of the MDC-500 mill drill center.

The MDC-500 features a dual pallet changer and is designed for high-volume production of small parts, where cycle times are short and part loading is frequent, and keeping non-cutting time to a minimum is critical. The machine provides high-speed drilling and tapping as well as full milling capabilities. The Haas Factory Outlet technology demonstration day in Toronto attracted over 200 attendees. At the same time, Haas Demonstration Days held concurrently at Thomas Skinner & Son Ltd.’s facilities in Vancouver, BC, and Winnipeg, MB attracted close to 400 attendees.

Coming in the September issue of
MP&P

Special Features

• Weld Expo Preview

• CNC Machine Tools

• Fabricating/Forming

• Robotics/Automation

• EDM

Regular Departments

• Software Solutions

• Welding Zone

Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association of Canada - This site is an information resource for Canadian OEM producers of parts, equipment, tools, supplies and services to the automotive industry. www.apma.ca

Canadian Machine Tool Distributors Association - A resource for Canadian machine tool distributors. www.cmtda.com

Canadian Welding Association - Information resource for the Canadian welding industry.
www.cwa-acs.org

Lincoln Electric Company - Register online for access to the latest news from the Lincoln Electric Company and receive you copy of iWeld eNewsletter. www.lincolnelectric.com

JobBOSS, from Exact Software, is the most widely used job shop software designed specifically for job shops, and custom, high-tech manufacturing shops. It is a job-based system that includes: Quoting, Scheduling, Job Tracking, Costing, Purchasing, Inventory, Shop Floor, Data Collection, Quality, Performance Metrics, CRM and Integrated Accounting.

Visit www.jobboss.com or call 800-777-4334.

CARR LANE

New Toggle Clamps with Built-In Safety Lock

Carr Lane has introduced several new toggle clamps with a built-in safety lock. These latch-action clamps have a lock which automatically engages when the clamp is closed, then remains locked until manually disengaged by pressing a lever before opening. The safety lock prevents the latch clamp from being accidentally opened by bumping the handle.

Available in four sizes, from 700 to 7500 lbs holding capacity. These new models, CL-200-LPA, CL-300-LPA, CL-400-LPA, and CL-500-LPA, all have a threaded U bolt for adjustability and a matching latch plate. Made of durable high-grade steel (also available in stainless steel). All Carr Lane toggle clamps have a comfortable handle grip.

www.carrlane.com

MILLER ELECTRIC

Welding Solutions

MillerWelds.com/Results helps manufacturers identify and solve welding issues by offering succinct summaries of actual success stories, technical articles by industry experts and welding's first corporate blog. See how companies reduced weld clean-up time by 40%, eliminated slag and spatter, lowered welding costs by $2,000 per day or increased travel speed 22%. MillerWelds.com/Results. Welding's Real Answers. Real Results.