The Authority on Canada's Recreational Boating Industry
Northpoint

Message From The Editor

Boating Industry Canada's Newsweek

Heads up…Rising Business Insolvencies this fall

According to a story in the Financial Post on November 23, 2018 with information from Bloomberg, business insolvencies in Canada climbed at the fastest pace since 2012 this fall amid higher borrowing costs and of course, our boat and engine dealers use credit pretty extensively in their businesses.

The story went on to say that higher interest rates are hitting businesses that may also be suffering from a decrease in consumer spending. The herd just always seems to have a feeling about which way to run and it seems that households are diverting more money toward servicing their debt. Our recent record low interest rates were intended to stimulate the economy and that worked very well, but the consequence was higher levels of household debt.

Consumers are now sensing choppy waters ahead and it's time to pay that debt down.

We in the boat business are suffering the double whammy of this situation and the 10% retaliatory tariffs that seem to be here, at least until the NAFTA / USMCA agreement gets settled. Looks like that will not happen until the New Year - maybe well into the New Year given that the democrats took back the House of Representatives in the U.S. Mid-term elections and said they didn't like Trump's deal.

To help put the Financial post story into perspective, it said 826 companies filed for insolvency in the three months through September, compared with 790 in the same period a year earlier according to the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcies that reported last Friday. Quebec, Alberta and Manitoba saw the biggest increases. By sector, retail trade, transportation, construction and manufacturing were among the hardest hit. Insolvencies jumped 17.5 per cent in September, the last month of the quarter.

Actually, interest rates have been on the rise since mid-2017, and yet aside from a 0.1 per cent increase earlier this year, insolvency filings have fallen every quarter since 2015 on a year-earlier basis, so this number is concerning.

The total number seems small to me, particularly if you consider how many companies are in business in Canada. To have between 790 and 826 companies file for insolvency does not seem alarming and I would challenge the story's authors on their conclusion that interest rates are solely to blame.

However, they quoted Chantal Gingras, head of the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals, which represents about 1100 trustees as saying that this was concerning to that organization.

The message to our readers would seem to be to be aware and to exercise caution until we see a more sustained trend. This was only the sixth increase in quarterly business insolvencies since 2012. The average rate over that period has been a decline of 4 per cent.

Andy Adams, Editor
aadams@kerrwil.com
   

Marine Parts Supply

Feature

Boating BC Conference

2018 BOATING BC CONFERENCE SEES RECORD ATTENDANCE

The 2018 Boating BC Conference presented by Mercury Marine was a fantastic success. With record attendance, industry members enjoyed a day and a half of learning, networking and inspiration. Read More

Feature

Auto Connecting Trailer

WOULD MORE PEOPLE GO BOATING IF THEIR CAR AUTOMATICALLY CONNECTED TO THEIR TRAILER?

We have just learned that a technology company called Semcon in Sweden has developed an automatic system to connect a car and a trailer. Last spring, Semcon asked people for examples of products that were lacking… Read More
Mercury

Special Feature

BIC Logo

HAVING NO SUCCESSION PLAN IS STILL A PLAN – LAST WEEK TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SUCCESSION PLAN SURVEY

To know your current plans for keeping your business, or putting it on the market, helps shape the future of our industry and quantifies the need for new business owners and future employees. Read More

Changing Scene

Boating Atlantic Logo BOATING ATLANTIC APPOINTS NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR 2019
Boating Atlantic held its Annual General Meeting on November 8th. Members present voted in favour of changing the name Atlantic Marine Trades Association to Boating Atlantic. The Association thanked retiring Board Members Chip Dickison of the Nova Scotia Boat Builders Association… Read More
Boating Dreams Winner WINNER NAMED IN VOLVO PENTA'S BOATING DREAMS CONTEST
It pays to dream. Travis Christ of Charleston, South Carolina is the winner of Volvo Penta of the America's Boating Dreams contest, a social media promotion in which customers posted stories of their dreams and aspirations of spending time on the water. Read More
Boat Dealers Logo BUYING A BOAT IN CANADA JUST GOT EASIER
Digital Era Media Inc., Digital Media Publishers of Canadian Marine & Powersports Listing Sites announced that it has launched all new versions of BoatDealers.ca and OutboardDealers.ca powered by their 6th Generation MyDealers.ca platform. Read More
Lumishore Dame Award Special Mention LUMISHORE RECEIVES DAME AWARD SPECIAL MENTION
Lumishore, manufacturer of high-performance LED lighting systems, has taken all its expertise in underwater lighting above the waterline with a new range of products designed for interior use. The recently introduced Smart Lighting by Lumishore… Read More
Victoria Harbour Marinas FOUR GREATER VICTORIA HARBOUR AUTHORITY MARINAS HAVE ACHIEVED THE HIGHEST RANKING POSSIBLE IN CLEAN MARINE BC PROGRAM
Four marinas in the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority have raised the bar as they work toward curbing pollution in Victoria's Inner Harbour. They've just achieved the highest ranking possible in our Clean Marine BC program! Read More
Develop Nova Scotia NEW NAME, MANDATE FOR WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT
Waterfront Development Corp. is getting a new mandate to help drive strategic economic development across Nova Scotia. Read More
TIBS

Events

ABYC Standards Week

BE PART OF ABYC 2019 STANDARDS WEEK

ABYC 2019 Standards Week will be January 7-11, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. The event is especially close to our readers in B.C. Read More

Education

ABYC Law Symposium

WEST COAST READERS - PLAN TO ATTEND THE 2019 ABYC MARINE LAW SYMPOSIUM

The 2019 ABYC Marine Law Symposium will be held January 8, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. This is the 3rd year for one of the most information-packed events you'll ever attend! From boat crashes, fraud, and equipment failure, this event has it all… Read More
VIBS

New Products

Pack Small

TIWAL UNVEILS A NEW POCKET SAILER DREAM BIG, PACK SMALL

Following the success of the Tiwal 3 (nearly 1,000 boats sold), Tiwal will be presenting their latest little boat at Boot Düsseldorf: Tiwal 2, the inflatable sailing dinghy which is even lighter, more compact, and is ready to sail in 15 minutes. Tiwal intends to make the Tiwal 2 the essential toy aboard cruising boats. Read More
JMP Marine Service Kits

JMP MARINE SERVICE KITS FOR COMPLETE PUMP OVERHAUL

A large part of the cost of a marine engine cooling pump is its cast and machined bronze body. But it rarely needs to be replaced when trouble arises. It's far more cost-effective to rebuild the unit using one of JMP Marine's new Major or Minor Service Kits. Manufactured to ISO 9001 standards… Read More
Transducers USA Visual Alert

TRANSDUCERS USA INTRODUCES SECURITY SIREN WITH VISUAL ALERT

Transducers USA, an industry leading supplier of audible signal devices, has announced the availability of their unique Tonelight™ Security Alarm with dual notifiers: a red or green strobe light and a loud siren. Read More
Exposure Lights

EXPOSURE LIGHTS LAUNCH NEW LED LONG DISTANCE ACTION 1-9 SEARCH LIGHT

The Action 1-9 from Exposure Lights is a powerful 1000 lumens torch, specifically designed to aid search and location operations. The high-powered LEDs are focused to a nine-degree beam, through a collimated lens. The lens allows highly accurate control of the beam and field of view… Read More
Macerator Pump

SERVICING A MACERATOR IMPELLER IS FAST, EASY AND CLEAN

The realization that a macerator pump needs servicing leaves many boat owners sighing with despair. It's a seriously nasty job. Even if a technician does the dirty work, it'll take days to get rid of the odor. Read More

Boating Stock Market

Boating Stock Market

THE BOATING STOCK MARKET


Read More

Calendar

Calendar
Toronto International Boat Show
January 18 - 27, 2019
Enercare Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto, ON
Boot Dusseldorf
January 19 - 27, 2019
Dusseldorf, Germany
International Marina & Boatyard Conference
January 23 - 25, 2019
Broward County Convention Center, Fort Lauderdale, FL

... View All Events
Marine Careers

Daily Updates

For daily updates and more interesting news follow
Boating Industry Canada on LinkedIn.
Play Safe Productions
Kropf
Homebrook Financial
TIBS
CTOW
CDK
CCMarine
Western Marine
VIBS
Superior
Mercury
Northpoint
Beckson
CCMarine
TIBS
Western Marine
Boating Industry Canada is published by AD ASTRA Media Inc. in association with Kerrwil Publications Limited
538 Elizabeth Street Midland Ontario, L4R 2A3

Unsubscribe   |   Privacy   |   Share