Summary Report of Energy Use
in the Canadian Manufacturing
Sector, 1995-2010
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2. Executive summary
The Industrial Consumption of Energy (ICE) survey is an annual survey of Canada’s Manufacturing sector. This summary report examines energy consumption patterns for the Canadian Manufacturing sector from 1995 to 2010, using the results of the ICE survey.
The following are some of the key findings from the 2010 ICE survey:
- From 1995 to 2010, the Manufacturing sector’s energy use decreased by 14.3 percent (or 355.8 petajoules [PJ]), which is approximately equal to the combined energy used in the retail trade, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, and arts, entertainment and recreation subsectors of the Commercial/Institutional sector across Canada in 2009.6
- From 1995 to 2010, The Manufacturing sector’s energy intensity declined 23 percent, from 17.8 megajoules per dollar of gross domestic product (MJ/$GDP) to 13.7 MJ/$GDP.
- In 2003, electricity overtook natural gas as the most used energy source in the Manufacturing sector, although the gap between both these energy sources narrowed in 2010. For a breakdown of the share of energy consumption in the Manufacturing sector by energy source from 1995 to 2010, refer to Table A.9 in Appendix A of this report.
- Although there are 21 subsectors within the Manufacturing sector, seven subsectors accounted for 91.0 percent of all energy consumption in the sector in 2010. These subsectors (in order of their share of energy consumption) are Paper Manufacturing, Primary Metal Manufacturing, Petroleum and Coal Product Manufacturing, Chemical Manufacturing, Wood Product Manufacturing, Food Manufacturing and Non-Metallic Mineral Product Manufacturing. This summary report examines key findings among these seven subsectors in greater detail.
- Paper Manufacturing
- Primary Metal Manufacturing
- Petroleum and Coal Product Manufacturing
- Chemical Manufacturing
- Wood Product Manufacturing
- Food Manufacturing
- Non-Metallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
…these seven subsectors accounted for 91.0 percent of the sector’s energy consumption and 44.5 percent of the sector’s GDP.
From 1995 to 2010
Table 1 (and Table A.1 in Appendix A) compares energy consumption, output (as measured by GDP7) and energy intensity8 of the overall Manufacturing sector and the seven greatest energy users of the sector from 1995 to 2010. It shows that, from 1995 to 2010, energy consumption in the sector decreased while its output increased; this resulted in an improvement in energy intensity.
Table 1. Comparison of energy consumption, GDP and energy intensity of the Manufacturing sector and selected subsectors, 1995–2010
| Total Manu- facturing |
Paper | Primary Metal | Petroleum and Coal Product | Chemical | Wood Product | Food | Non- Metallic Mineral Product |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change in energy consumption | -14.3% | -39.3% | -11.0% | 15.5% | 1.9% | 18.5% | 20.7% | -18.2% |
| -355.8 PJ |
-354.5 PJ |
-55.6 PJ |
45.5 PJ |
5.2 PJ |
20.0 PJ |
17.5 PJ |
-21.5 PJ |
|
| Change in GDP | 11.0% | -16.9% | 14.7% | 16.4% | 11.2% | 28.0% | 34.5% | 51.6% |
| $15.5 billion |
-$1.8 billion |
$1.2 billion |
$0.5 billion |
$1.3 billion |
$2.2 billion |
$5.0 billion |
$1.7 billion |
|
| Change in energy intensity | -22.8% | -27.0% | -22.6% | -0.7% | -8.9% | -7.5% | -10.3% | -47.2% |
The Paper Manufacturing subsector’s energy consumption declined by 354.5 PJ (or 39.3 percent) between 1995 and 2010. This was the largest decrease among the seven subsectors. It was also the only subsector that experienced a decrease in GDP (16.9 percent) during this period. Despite a decrease in GDP since 2005, energy use decreased faster, partially as a result of the least efficient pulp and paper plants being closed first. This would help explain the significant reduction in energy intensity for this subsector from 2005 to 2010 (see Table A.12 in Appendix A).
Even though four of the seven subsectors saw increases in their energy consumption during this period, all seven subsectors experienced a decrease in energy intensity from 1995 to 2010, due to larger increases in output. The decreases in energy intensity ranged from 47.2 percent for the Non-Metallic Mineral Product subsector to the smallest decrease of 0.7 percent for the Petroleum and Coal Product subsector.9
From 2009 to 2010
Following the recessionary conditions from 2008 to 2009, the Manufacturing sector rebounded in 2010 with a 7.0 percent increase in GDP from the previous year. All seven key Manufacturing subsectors exhibited growth in output over this period. Even though overall energy consumption for the sector grew slightly during that period (3.1 percent), energy intensity decreased for all subsectors, except for the Chemical and Wood Product industries.
Table 2. Comparison of energy consumption, GDP and energy intensity of the Manufacturing sector and selected subsectors, 2009–2010
| Total Manu-facturing | Paper | Primary Metal | Petroleum and Coal Product | Chemical | Wood Product | Food | Non-Metallic Mineral Product | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change in energy consumption | 3.1% | -0.4% | 4.8% | -5.4% | 16.6% | 13.0% | -0.9% | 5.9% |
| 63.9 PJ |
-2.0 PJ |
20.7 PJ |
-19.3 PJ |
40.2 PJ |
14.8 PJ |
-0.9 PJ |
5.4 PJ |
|
| Change in GDP | 7.0% | 1.0% | 13.3% | 2.0% | 4.7% | 11.1% | 1.5% | 10.7% |
| $10.2 billion |
0.1 billion |
$1.1 billion |
$0.1 billion |
$0.6 billion |
$1.0 billion |
$0.3 billion |
$0.5 billion |
|
| Change in energy intensity | -3.7% | -1.0% | -7.8% | -7.3% | 10.5% | 1.7% | -2.4% | -5.0% |
6 Natural Resources Canada, Comprehensive Energy Use Database, 1990-2009, Commercial Sector, Table 2. oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/statistics/neud/dpa/tablestrends2/com_ca_2_e_4.cfm.
7 In this report, GDP figures are reported in constant 2002 prices.
8 Energy intensity is the amount of energy use per unit of activity. See Appendix B, Glossary, for a more in-depth description.
9 This very slight decrease in energy intensity could be due in part to the introduction of federal regulations aimed at reducing air pollutants. Adhering to these regulations required further refinement of crude oil by the petroleum refineries, which in turn required more energy. (Source: Environment Canada, Fuel Regulations, 2009. www.ec.gc.ca/energie-energy/default.asp?lang=En&n=EE068DA8-1
.)