Canadian Dollar keeps going up
- Thread starter Cobster
- Start date
What are you all complaining about? The higher Canadian Dollar enables us to have cheaper imports. And if you're in business this is the PERFECT TIME to go out and update your equipment, software, etc... to improve your productivatity so thatyou can still sell internationally. It was only a few short years ago that business were COMPLAINING that they could not afford to modernize their plants because the cost of new machines was beyond their reach due to a low Canadian Dollar.
Well, you've got no execuse now chum. Do you want to compete on the world stage, then update your plant and equiment to take advantage of the very best tools out there.
Well, you've got no execuse now chum. Do you want to compete on the world stage, then update your plant and equiment to take advantage of the very best tools out there.
I have some news for you. Software won't get cheaper because of the low US buck. The benefits of cheaper equipment are almost negligible campared with the huge price advantage you get from selling your products 30-40% cheaper. I would still, however, recommend you invest in software such as a spell checker so you can be more productivititti and be more competitivititti on the international stage.WinterHawk said:
The idea that prices will come down because of a high dollar is a myth. Our economy has been geared to a low dollar for the last 30 years and we thrived. A high dollar drives our American clients away. In the past 6 months I have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars because my US clients are going to south america and eastern europe. Lets pray things get back to normal soon.
Meister said:
I couldn't be bothered to download the spell checker here, so what? As for sell our products 30-40% cheaper, how long would that last on equipment that is wearing out, when your company can't retool to meet your clients latest requirements? This is the time to take advantage of a stronger dollar and invest in new equipment and infrastructure. If you bitched that you couldn't afford to do that at 75 cents on the dollar, then why can't you do it now when it's 95 cents?
As for software, equipment, service contracts, it does get cheaper if you're buying off shore. Unfortunately it's also makes it more likely that labour also gets exported. Cheaper to buy services else where than here. Hell our support from IBM is now coming from South America because they are in the same time zone instead of IBM Canada.
So what happens when our Dollar falls again? Will you take advantage and upgrade so that when the dollar become more competative and our labour costs make things here cheaper to be exported, will you have improved your plant and infrastructure so you can compete with the productivity gains?
Some of my income comes from the states. US dollar dropping is not a good thing for me. I'm glad I'm not dependent on it, that's for sure.
Canada gets a double whammy with manufacturing. Not only does it have to struggle with cheap imports from Asia, but now it is becoming uncompetitve to the US. What good does it if you are investing in automation equipment and the labour savings are eaten up by equipment financing. The payback on automation equipment is not immediate, it may take a couple of years. Many factories can not wait that long. Hence, the record layoffs and plant closures.WinterHawk said:
blackdog said:
Our prices will not come down, for goods and services originating in Canada. Even if the raw material costs and or services used in creating the end product are sourced from over seas, you will not see any price reductions. If for years you'e been making just enough profit to get by, wouldn't you want that extra money?
My salary hasn't taken a hit, I'm still making mine in Canadian dollars, just now it buys more if I travel to the States. Remember, because our dollar has gone up, their still charging more for cars here than in the States. When the Canadian dollar was low, they didn't raise their prices to compensate, so why should they drop them now? That would go against human nature.
The only way to make our products and services attractive on the international market is to be competative and to offer leading product designs of the highest quality.
My company is looking to expand in the US by offering a far better service than our US competitors. We can afford to offer our services for less because we have invested in the latest software and leverage our economies of scale being a national company here in Canada with offices from coast to coast.
Not everyone can do this. And yes your customers will go to the lowest bidder, whether that is a Canadian company this week or Indian. And yes, with a dollar approaching par with the US it will be harder to sell in the US market unless you can cut costs or increase you sales to other clients bringing down your cost per unit.
It is funny, every so often when our dollar fell, the manufacturers / importers / resalers were quick to increase prices on goods here... but they are awfully slow to pass the lower cost of goods imported from the US on to consumers
I am not being the bitter American and I love coming to Toronto and other places in Ontario (next week will be my third summer visit to Toronto making it three summers in a row) but if the Greenback keeps weakening here atthis rate, this may be my last trip here for a long time.
Fortuantely I can control some of these issues with finding a good deal on a hotel and on a few other things. Next week I when I visit Toronto I am staying at The Cosmopolitan Hotel for $145 USD a night. That is a good deal regardless of the exchange rate. But SP rates are a different matter of economics. Paying $250 an hour is much different this year than in recent years. They of course do not fluctuate like hotel rates do.
Fortuantely I can control some of these issues with finding a good deal on a hotel and on a few other things. Next week I when I visit Toronto I am staying at The Cosmopolitan Hotel for $145 USD a night. That is a good deal regardless of the exchange rate. But SP rates are a different matter of economics. Paying $250 an hour is much different this year than in recent years. They of course do not fluctuate like hotel rates do.
Not so sure of record layoffs?Meister said:
It hasn't made much a big dent in unemployment rate.
Like the days of free trade, industry retool to higher skill niche. True, the weaker trades & elder workers may fade or retire.
Record layoffs in manufacturing in Ontario is compensated by labour shortage in Alberta and resources in general. Hence no shift in numbers.goodtime said:
If you ask me resources is a low skill industry unless you use it to create something.
What's a weaker trade?
Canadian dollar at 30-year high
The Canadian dollar neared its highest level in three decades Wednesday after oil prices hit a record.
The loonie rose as high as 96.58 cents (U.S.), then closed the day down slightly at 96.52, up 53 cents from Tuesday's close. The currency is now trading near the same levels as in 1977.
Record oil and wheat prices are powering the currency's rise, but that's not all. The U.S. Federal Reserve Board is widely expected to cut interest rates next week, widening the interest-rate gap between Canada and the U.S. And recent economic reports in Canada on housing and imports suggest a robust domestic economy.
The Canadian dollar neared its highest level in three decades Wednesday after oil prices hit a record.
The loonie rose as high as 96.58 cents (U.S.), then closed the day down slightly at 96.52, up 53 cents from Tuesday's close. The currency is now trading near the same levels as in 1977.
Record oil and wheat prices are powering the currency's rise, but that's not all. The U.S. Federal Reserve Board is widely expected to cut interest rates next week, widening the interest-rate gap between Canada and the U.S. And recent economic reports in Canada on housing and imports suggest a robust domestic economy.
