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September 01, 2023NON-RESIDENTIAL FIXED CAPITAL INVESTMENT, Q2 2023 Non-residential fixed capital investment consists of expenditures made by business, governments and non-profit institutions serving households that add to the capital stock for production of goods and services in an economy. Investment that are included are buildings, engineering construction (i.e. bridge, mine structure), machinery and equipment, and intellectual property products (i.e. software, mineral exploration) but it doesn’t include non-reproducible assets (lands, mineral deposits, natural resources) or housing investment. Statistics Canada has begun to release quarterly data on non-residential fixed capital investment and stock for the provinces with historical data back to 2013. Note, the data is not seasonally adjusted and expressed in current prices.
Year-over-year (Q2 2023 vs Q2 2022)
Nova Scotia non-residential investment (all sectors, all assets, current prices) increased 1.9% from Q2 2022 to Q2 2023, which was a slower pace than other provinces. Nationally non-residential investment was up 7.2% with Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador posting the largest increase.
Business sector investment in Nova Scotia increased 6.1%, which was slower than the national pace of 7.5%. Newfoundland and Labrador recorded the fastest growth while Prince Edward Island reported the slowest.
Government fixed capital investment decreased 2.9 in Nova Scotia from Q2 2022 to Q2 2023, the only decline among the provinces. Across Canada, government investment (which includes all orders of government) was up 6.6% with the fastest gain in Saskatchewan.
Nova Scotia non-residential building investment was up 1.0% compared to Q2 2022. Nationally, non-residential building investment was up 1.9% with fastest growth in Prince Edward Island and slowest in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Engineering construction investment was up 15.7% in Nova Scotia and 14.3% in Canada with all provinces reporting double-digit growth. Growth was fastest in Prince Edward Island and slowest in Newfoundland and Labrador and Alberta.
Machinery and equipment investment was down 11.1% in Nova Scotia, slower than the other provinces. Nationally, machinery and equipment was up 1.1% with the fastest growth in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Intellectual property investment was up 6.5% in Nova Scotia compared to Q2 2022. The fastest growth was in Newfoundland and Labrador and slowest in Prince Edward Island.
Nova Scotia's investments in fixed non-residential capital were smaller in government investment ($777 million) than business investment ($956 million). Engineering construction made up the largest asset category of investment ($552 million), followed by machinery and equipment ($527 million).
Engineering construction and intellectual property growth was stronger in the quarter while machinery and equipment was down. Business sector investment grew 6.1% compared to Q2 2022 while government sector investment was down.
Year-to-date (Q1-Q2 2023 vs Q1-Q2 2022)
Over the first two quarters of 2023, Nova Scotia's non-residential investment is up 4.1%, slower than other provinces. Nationally, non-residential investment increased 7.9% with the fastest growth in Newfoundland and Alberta (both +9.5%).
Non-residential building investment is up 1.3% in Nova Scotia and 2.3% in Canada over first half of 2023. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the slowest growth and Prince Edward Island the fastest.
Engineering construction is up by double digits in all provinces with the fastest growth in the Maritimes and slowest in Newfoundland and Labrador and Alberta.
Machinery and equipment investment is down 3.3% in Nova Scotia, only province with a decline. Nationally, machinery and equipment investment rose 3.2% in first half of 2023 with Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, and Alberta reporting the fastest growth.
Intellectual property investment increased 6.2% in Nova Scoti and 6.9% in Canada from the first half of 2022. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the fastest growth and Prince Edward Island the slowest.
Business investment is up 7.1% in Nova Scotia in the first half of 2023, slower than 8.4% in Canada. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the strongest growth and Prince Edward Island the weakest.
Government investment, all levels, in Nova Scotia was 1.1% for first half of 2023, slower than other provinces. Canada government investment, all levels, was up 6.5% with the fastest growth in Saskatchewan.
Over the first half of 2023, business investment ($1,835 million) has been slightly larger than government ($1,713 million). Machinery and equipment investment has led type of investment with non-residential buildings seeing the smallest investment.
For the first half of 2023, engineering construction and intellectual property have been the fastest growing investments. Business sector investment (+7.1%) rose faster than government sector (+1.1%).
Trends
Nova Scotia's non-residential investment has generally trended up on a year-over-year basis, with the notable exception of 2020.
Business sector non-residential investment trended downward over 2016 to 2020, before trending upwards over 2021-2023 Q2.
Government and non-profit institution serving households was mostly flat from 2014 through 2017, trended upwards from 2017 to 2021 before being mostly stable through Q2 2023.
Nova Scotia's investments in non-residential buildings declined from 2013 to 2016 and rose from 2016 to 2020. After a dip in 2020, Nova Scotia's investment in non-residential buildings recovered to its rising trend in 2021 and 2022.
Nova Scotia's investments in engineering construction assets have trended up since 2018.
Nova Scotia's investments in machinery and equipment assets have been on a declining trend since 2019.
Nova Scotia's investments in intellectual property products has mostly trended up since 2013 with occasional spikes associated with specific offshore exploration projects.
Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0163-01 Flows and stocks of fixed non-residential and residential capital, by sector and asset, provincial and territorial (x 1,000,000)
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