Toronto, Ontario — In this weekly economics report, the Canadian government continues tariff talks, with insight from a supply chain expert. Plus, PPG reveals its Q2 2024 financials.
Canadian considerations
The federal government is currently engaged in conversations on whether to impose tariffs on the import of Chinese-made electric vehicles.
The Globe and Mail reported last week that Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association (APMA), expects Canada to impose material tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.
In a conversation with the media outlet, Volpe also suggested there will be no federal government subsidies on these imported vehicles.
The European Union and the United States have already announced intentions to impose hefty taxes on Chinese-made EVs, citing concerns for the health of domestic EV supply chains. The Canadian government’s consultation period on the topic will end Aug. 1, 2024.
Approximately 70 percent of EV batteries globally are produced in China. About 60 percent of EVs hail from the nation, too.
Canada is in the process of constructing its own EV supply chain. Volkswagen is building a battery cell gigafactory in St. Thomas, Ontario; Honda announced its own $15 billion investment in April, which will see the automaker build Canada’s first comprehensive EV supply chain, located in Ontario.
According to an April announcement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office, automotive and battery manufacturers have announced more than $31 billion in investments in EV manufacturing across Canada.
Global slowdowns impact refinisher results
PPG reported its second-quarter financial results on July 19. The global coatings company achieved sales of US$4.8 billion, marking its seventh consecutive quarter of year-over-year segment margin improvement.
PPG Chairman and CEO Timothy Knavish said Q2 2024 automotive refinish sales were down year-over-year, reflecting a “strong prior-year comparison and lower insurance claims.”
Automotive OEM coatings organic sales decreased by a high single-digit percentage due to lower index-based selling prices and lower U.S. and European industry volumes, partly offset by above-market PPG growth in Mexico and moderated growth in China, said the company.
Performance segment net sales reflected no change year-over-year. Q2 2024 net sales were US$3 billion.
Knavish added that, despite these results, PPG “expect[s] organic growth in automotive refinish coatings and protective and marine coatings.”
“While still slightly unfavourable year-over-year, we are projecting modest sequential quarterly improvement in general industrial demand,” said Knavish, adding that PPG is projecting flat-to-low single-digit performance aggregate organic sales growth for the aforementioned segments in Q3 2024.
“Despite increasingly challenging macroeconomic conditions, we are building top-line momentum as our underlying year-over-year volume progression improved for the sixth consecutive quarter,” added Knavish. “In the second quarter, six of our 10 business units delivered positive volume growth versus prior year, aided by our enterprise growth strategy initiatives.”
Initiatives included delivering new products and technologies to customers, as well as “upgrading and modernizing manufacturing capabilities to drive increased output,” particularly in aerospace product offerings, added Knavish.
Knavish also said PPG’s automatic paint mixing tool, MoonWalk, contributed to increases in architectural coatings. The tool is also used in automotive refinish applications.
Click here for more information on PPG’s Q2 2024 results.
