On a quarter-over-quarter basis, Industrial Chemical shipments fell by 7% from Q3 through Q4 2019. Shipments of inorganic chemicals led the decline with a 14.9% drop in Q4, followed closely by Resin’s which declined 13.6% and Other Organic chemicals with a decline of 8.7%. Petrochemicals ended the year on a strong note where the completion of maintenance turnarounds led to a 9.4% increase in shipments in Q4.

Industrial Gas shipments also increased in Q4, up 1.3% from Q3 2019. In Q4 the combined factors of early and severe winter weather and labour disruptions to Canadian National Railway’s (CN Railway) network impacted Industrial Chemical manufacturers’ ability to move their products to market. These factors were largely acute and transitory impacting the flow of goods in November 2019 and their influence will be seen throughout this report. By December and into January 2020 railway operations had returned to normal.