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November 19, 2020NON-RESIDENTIAL CAPITAL STOCK REMAINING SERVICE LIFE, 2018 Statistics Canada released data on the age of the non-residential capital stock in the provinces. The assets are measured by the "remaining useful service life of non-residential capital stock" which is estimated as a percentage of service life remaining relative to the total service life of the asset. It is measured as the ratio of the average asset age to its expected service life. Changes to the remaining useful service life can come from changes in the investment level or in the investment mix.
CANADA AND PROVINCES
In 2018, the average age of the non-residential capital stock was 9.9 years in Nova Scotia compared to 8.7 years in Canada. After Nova Scotia, the oldest capital stock was in Prince Edward Island (9.7 years) and New Brunswick (9.8 years). The newest capital stock was in Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador (both 8.2 years). The average age of the capital stock in Nova Scotia has been 9.9 years since 2015.
Compared to 2009, Canada's non-residential capital stock has aged by 0.3 years, with similar increase (+0.2 years) in Nova Scotia. New Brunswick had the most rapidly aging capital stock (+1.1 year) over this period while Newfoundland and Labrador, among the three provinces with a declining age of capital stock, reported the largest (-2.0 years).
In 2018, the remaining useful service life ratio for the non-residential capital stock in Nova Scotia was up by 0.1 percentage points to 58.7 %. Nova Scotia has shortest remaining service life ratio among the provinces followed by Prince Edward Island (59.0%). Canada's remaining service life ratio was down 0.3 percentage points to 65.1% in 2018, on declines in remaining useful service life reported in Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia.
The remaining service life ratio of Canada's buildings was 62.7% (60.8% in Nova Scotia) in 2018. Across Canada Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest remaining useful service life for buildings at 68.6% while Prince Edward Island has the lowest at 59.2%
Nova Scotia has the lowest remaining useful service life for engineering assets at 58.0%. Nationally, engineering assets have 68.5% of remaining useful service life. The remaining service life for engineering assets was down in Newfoundland and Labrador (72.4%) after a large increase over past five years.
The remaining useful service life ratio for machinery and equipment in Canada was 55.6% in 2018. Nova Scotia's remaining useful service life for machinery and equipment was 56.6%. Saskatchewan had the highest remaining useful service life for machinery and equipment assets at 60.0% while Alberta has fallen from the highest among the provinces in 2009 to the lowest at 51.7% in 2018
The remaining service life ratio for intellectual property products has been declining for Canada, falling to 59.1%. This includes the intellectual property gathered as a result of oil and gas exploration activities. Nova Scotia's remaining useful service life for intellectual property assets increased 1.2 percentage points to 57.3% in 2018. Newfoundland and Labrador's remaining useful service life of intellectual property assets is the highest at 67.1% and Alberta at 55.5% is the lowest
NOVA SCOTIA
The remaining useful service life ratio of buildings in Nova Scotia was 60.8% in 2018. After rising from 2011-2016, the ratio has been falling for industrial buildings, other commercial (non-office, non-retail) structures and educational facilities over 2016-2018. Remaining useful service life among health care and other institutional buildings has declined since 2009.
The remaining useful service life for engineering structures in Nova Scotia decreased 0.3 percentage points to 58.0% in 2018 with a decline the life of in mining engineering construction after large increases in 2016 and 2017 as new gold mines in the province were constructed. The remaining service life of highway, roads, streets and bridges, and overpass declind 0.4 percentage points in in 2018. Marine engineering construction (+2.9 percentage points) was up in 2018.
The remaining useful service life for machinery and equipment continued to move upward with a 2.1 percentage point increase to 56.6% in 2018. Over the previous decade, there has been notable increases in the service life for electrical equipment, appliances, transportation equipment, rubber and plastics products and declines in furniture, and textile, clothing products.
The remaining useful service life ratio for intellectual property products in Nova Scotia was up in 2018 to 57.3% due to an increase in mineral exploration while research and development and software were down.
In terms of the non-residential capital stock by industry, the highest remaining useful service life ratios are found in the non-profit sector (75.9%), health care and social assistance (69.7%), and utilities (66.5%).
Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0166-01 Average age measures of non-residential capital stock by industry, by asset, Canada, provinces and territories
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