Manufacturers Must Accelerate the Adoption of Advanced Technologies

Toronto, Februrary 16, 2017

Canadian Manufactures & Exporters (CME) along with its strategic partners, today released Accelerating Adoption of Advanced Manufacturing, the second of five reports that provide detailed analysis and recommendations stemming from CME’s Industrie 2030 initiative aimed at doubling manufacturing output by 2030.

Manufacturing Matters:

• Directly employs 1.7 million Canadians – 10 per cent of entire workforce
• Directly and indirectly accounts 30 per cent of economic output and 27 per cent of all employment
• Directly responsible for more than two-thirds of all exports

“For manufacturers to compete globally they must invest in new advanced technologies both in their products and their processes,” stated Mathew Wilson, Senior Vice President at CME. “For the Canadian economy, and the manufacturing sector to prosper, companies must invest in new machinery and equipment, and incorporate new digital technologies and advanced manufacturing capabilities into their operations. However, over the past several years investment has decreased as the sector has struggled with static output and exports.”

Based on research and consultation through the CME led Industrie 2030 initiative, Canadian manufacturers are not investing in advanced technologies. More than 60 per cent all respondents to CME’s survey stated they do not presently use advanced manufacturing technologies in their operations. And this is reflected directly in the statistics – manufacturing investment in machinery and equipment in Canada has fallen by nearly five per cent between 2009 and 2014, hitting a 30-year low in that year. In the US investment has risen by 58 per cent over the same time period. In fact, few industrialized countries have a worse record than Canada.

To accelerate the adoption of advanced manufacturing in Canada, we must:

• Enhance depreciation rates and provide tax credits to encourage investment in advanced;
• Establish manufacturing hubs and technology demonstration centres to showcase and test new advanced manufacturing technologies;
• Expand all regional manufacturing technology investment support programs across the country; and,
• Reinvest federal and provincial carbon-pricing revenues back into offsetting the cost of purchasing new technologies and machinery and equipment.

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution is rapidly changing the products that manufacturers are creating and how they are being created while reducing operating costs and improving environmental performance,” added Wilson. “Other countries have created national strategies around technology adoption, and it is critical that Canadian governments work closely with industry to help facilitate the adoption of these technologies and to grow our manufacturing sector. Without strong, coordinated actions, our manufacturing sector will continue to be left behind.”
To read the report, visit: http://cme-mec.ca/download.php?file=59ry6m9pl.pdf

About Industrie 2030
Through its Industrie 2030 initiative, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) – Canada’s leading trade and industry association and the voice of manufacturing and global business in Canada -consulted more than 1,250 leading industry executives and conducted detailed research to define specific recommendations to overcome challenges and create a roadmap for the future of manufacturing, to strengthen its footprint across the country, and to drive growth, innovation, wealth creation and jobs. Core recommendations include:

• Building a strong labour pool and skilled workforce;
  Accelerating adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies;
• Fostering innovation, commercialization and new product development;
• Creating a competitive business environment in Canada; and
  Increasing access to domestic ‎and foreign markets.

This report is the second detailed report of the five core recommendations. Earlier reports, including the summary analysis and recommendations are available at www.industrie2030.ca.