Economy

Cargojet CEO says inflation, labour shortages suggest 'almost recessionary economy' – Financial Post

Published

2 years ago

May 21, 2022

2022 ‘very different picture’ for freight carrier

Cargojet Inc. Chief Executive Officer Ajay Virmani at the company’s Hamilton hangar. Photo by Peter J Thompson/National Post files

Cargojet Inc. chief executive Ajay Virmani said fuel prices and labour challenges suggest a recession is looming.

“All the challenges that you see out there [are] pointing towards almost a recessionary economy,” he said in an interview with the Financial Post’s Larysa Harapyn.

Virmani has a unique sightline on what’s happening in the economy. Cargojet had a good crisis, as the Mississauga, Ont.-based airline tripled its loads as consumers started ordering goods for delivery that they typically would have purchased at a store. Year-over-year revenue growth increased by 46 per cent in the quarter ended March 31, rising to $233.6 million from $160.3 million in the first quarter of last year.

Despite beating earnings expectations, Virmani said that business has levelled off since 2021. “That was a bit of a different story,” he said. “Today, it’s a very different picture.”

The once-fluid supply chain has faced numerous disruptions, including blockades, floods, and shortages. The chaos of the past couple of years has generated debate about whether supply chains will be shortened, as manufacturers and retailers seek suppliers closer to home to reduce the risk of being left with empty storerooms in the future.

Virmani said he isn’t seeing that yet. But he is seeing firsthand the extreme labour shortages that have come with the recovery from the COVID recession.

“Our biggest challenge right now is making sure that we can have people on the ground,” said Virmani. ”Inflation is a big factor, especially when you have wage rates go up 20 to 30 per cent to find any decent people to work.”

Canada’s inflation rate hit a new 31-year high of 6.8 per cent in April from a year earlier. Wages have also jumped as firms try to retain staff in the country’s tight job market.

“Everybody’s increasing prices,” said Virmani. Examples of recent price hikes in the airline industry include airport landing and parking fees, NAV Canada navigation charges, and jet fuel prices.

Passing on inflationary costs has been tricky for Cargojet because many of its customers have locked-in contracts.

“You’re not able to pass on 100 per cent of those charges,” said Virmani. ”It’s kind of hard to jam through every area of increase to your customers because there’s no ability for them to pass [it] on either,” said Virmani.”

Cargojet has been branching out into the international market as part of its growth strategy in the post-pandemic world.

“I’ve always said that Cargojet needs to diversify,” said Virmani. “We have the infrastructure in place, we have the resources in place, so basically we had to get some planes and people to fly them.”

The airline used to be primarily domestic – 80 to 90 per cent of its business, Virmani said – when it launched in 2001. Its business has since evolved, and domestic orders now account for only 50 per cent of business, the CEO said.

“It’s like McDonalds. They used to serve you lunch and dinner and they added breakfast to their menu,” said Virmani. “We have added sort of our version of breakfast which is international to the menu.”

Air Canada recently expanded its fleet with the acquisition of new freighter aircrafts. But Virmani said it has done little to change the playing field for Cargojet.

“International is a big market,” he said. “We’ve got a business plan and we’re going to execute it.”

At home, Virmani said Cargojet is shielded from Air Canada and other competitors because few have been in the business for as long as he has. Cargojet has taken over 20 years to build its network in the Canadian market, and that has value, the CEO said.

“There’s a cargo pedigree. There’s a cargo system in place. Minutes matter and I don’t think that anybody who wants to expand in that market field will have great luck,” said Virmani. “You have got to spend a lot of money, or you have got to spend a lot of time on it – and we’ve done both.”

• Email: novid@postmedia.com

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Economy

Liberals announce expansion to mortgage eligibility, draft rights for renters, buyers

Published

5 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is making some changes to mortgage rules to help more Canadians to purchase their first home.

She says the changes will come into force in December and better reflect the housing market.

The price cap for insured mortgages will be boosted for the first time since 2012, moving to $1.5 million from $1 million, to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.

The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.

On Aug. 1 eligibility for the 30-year amortization was changed to include first-time buyers purchasing a newly-built home.

Justice Minister Arif Virani is also releasing drafts for a bill of rights for renters as well as one for homebuyers, both of which the government promised five months ago.

Virani says the government intends to work with provinces to prevent practices like renovictions, where landowners evict tenants and make minimal renovations and then seek higher rents.

The government touts today’s announced measures as the “boldest mortgage reforms in decades,” and it comes after a year of criticism over high housing costs.

The Liberals have been slumping in the polls for months, including among younger adults who say not being able to afford a house is one of their key concerns.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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Economy

Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales up 1.4% in July at $71B

Published

5 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.4 per cent to $71 billion in July, helped by higher sales in the petroleum and coal and chemical product subsectors.

The increase followed a 1.7 per cent decrease in June.

The agency says sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector gained 6.7 per cent to total $8.6 billion in July as most refineries sold more, helped by higher prices and demand.

Chemical product sales rose 5.3 per cent to $5.6 billion in July, boosted by increased sales of pharmaceutical and medicine products.

Sales of wood products fell 4.8 per cent for the month to $2.9 billion, the lowest level since May 2023.

In constant dollar terms, overall manufacturing sales rose 0.9 per cent in July.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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Economy

S&P/TSX gains almost 100 points, U.S. markets also higher ahead of rate decision

Published

3 days ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets climbed to their best week of the year.

“It’s been almost a complete opposite or retracement of what we saw last week,” said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.

While last week saw a “healthy” pullback on weaker economic data, this week investors appeared to be buying the dip and hoping the central bank “comes to the rescue,” said Petursson.

Next week, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut its key interest rate for the first time in several years after it significantly hiked it to fight inflation.

But the magnitude of that first cut has been the subject of debate, and the market appears split on whether the cut will be a quarter of a percentage point or a larger half-point reduction.

Petursson thinks it’s clear the smaller cut is coming. Economic data recently hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been that bad either, he said — and inflation may have come down significantly, but it’s not defeated just yet.

“I think they’re going to be very steady,” he said, with one small cut at each of their three decisions scheduled for the rest of 2024, and more into 2025.

“I don’t think there’s a sense of urgency on the part of the Fed that they have to do something immediately.

A larger cut could also send the wrong message to the markets, added Petursson: that the Fed made a mistake in waiting this long to cut, or that it’s seeing concerning signs in the economy.

It would also be “counter to what they’ve signaled,” he said.

More important than the cut — other than the new tone it sets — will be what Fed chair Jerome Powell has to say, according to Petursson.

“That’s going to be more important than the size of the cut itself,” he said.

In Canada, where the central bank has already cut three times, Petursson expects two more before the year is through.

“Here, the labour situation is worse than what we see in the United States,” he said.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.

The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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