--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/explaining-the-post-2017-fall-in-productivity-in-the-transport-sector-in-canada/" title: "Explaining the Post-2017 Fall in Productivity in the Transport Sector in Canada" author: name: "" url: "https://csls.ca/author/" date_published: "2026-07-01T11:24:29+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-07T06:45:53+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "air transport" - "Canada" - "labour productivity" - "productivity decline" - "public transit" - "transportation sector" - "trucking" - "warehousing" country_focus: - "Canada" province_region: - "National" research_theme: - "Productivity and Economic Measurement" - "Sector/Industry Analysis" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # Explaining the Post-2017 Fall in Productivity in the Transport Sector in Canada Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/explaining-the-post-2017-fall-in-productivity-in-the-transport-sector-in-canada/ # Explaining the Post-2017 Fall in Productivity in the Transport Sector in Canada [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2024-09-1.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Sharpe, Andrew, and Alisaleh Shariati. 2024. “Explaining the Post-2017 Fall in Productivity in the Transport Sector in Canada.” CSLS Research Report 2024-09. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/explaining-the-post-2017-fall-in-productivity-in-the-transport-sector-in-canada/ ## Authors: - Andrew Sharpe Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Alisaleh Shariati Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## Report 2024-09 October 2024 80 pages ## Related research [Measuring the Appropriate Outcomes for Better Decision-Making: A Framework to Guide the Analysis of Health Policy Matthew Calver March 2016 | Report 2016-03 | 132 pages](https://csls.ca/research/measuring-the-appropriate-outcomes-for-better-decision-making-a-framework-to-guide-the-analysis-of-health-policy-2016-03/) [Living Standards Domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing Andrew Sharpe, Christopher Ross November 2011 | Report 2011-17 | 124 pages](https://csls.ca/research/living-standards-domain-of-the-canadian-index-of-wellbeing-2011-17/) [Productivity: Key to Economic Success Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) March 1998 | Report 1998-01 | 99 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-key-to-economic-success/) [Productivity Trends: A Canada-U.S. Comparison Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) January 1999 | Report 1999-01 | 6 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-trends-a-canada-u-s-comparison/) [New Estimates of Manufacturing Productivity Growth for Canada and the United States Andrew Sharpe March 1999 | Report 1999-02 | 21 pages](https://csls.ca/research/new-estimates-of-manufacturing-productivity-growth-for-canada-and-the-united-states/) [Apprenticeship in Canada: A Training System Under Siege? 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Using either 2017 or 2019 as a base, output per hour growth in this country has been by far the weakest in the G-7. For two-digit NAICS industries, the transportation and warehousing sector has experienced the worst labour productivity performance, down 4 per cent per year since 2017, compared to a 0.6 per cent increase for the business sector. This massive drop in productivity has resulted in the level of output per hour in the transportation sector falling from 93 per cent of the business sector average in 2017 to 77 per cent in 2023. This one sector reduced business sector productivity growth by about 0.2 percentage points per year. The objective of this report is to shed light on the nature of this fall in productivity growth in the transportation and warehousing. Three of the nine three-digit transportation sector industries are found to account for over 78 per cent of the fall in labour productivity growth in the sector, namely air transport, public transit and trucking. The report provides a detailed analysis of how and why productivity fell in these industries. La croissance de la productivité au Canada a été désastreuse ces dernières années. Que l’on prenne 2017 ou 2019 comme année de référence, la croissance de la production par heure travaillée au pays a été de loin la plus faible du G7. Parmi les secteurs à deux chiffres du SCIAN, le secteur du transport et de l’entreposage a connu la pire performance en matière de productivité du travail, en baisse de 4 % par année depuis 2017, comparativement à une hausse de 0,6 % pour le secteur des entreprises. Cette chute massive de la productivité a fait passer le niveau de production par heure travaillée du secteur du transport de 93 % de la moyenne du secteur des entreprises en 2017 à 77 % en 2023. Ce seul secteur a réduit la croissance de la productivité du secteur des entreprises d’environ 0,2 point de pourcentage par année. Ce rapport vise à éclairer la nature de ce recul de la croissance de la productivité dans le transport et l’entreposage. Trois des neuf industries du transport à trois chiffres se révèlent responsables de plus de 78 % du recul de la croissance de la productivité du travail dans le secteur, soit le transport aérien, le transport en commun et le camionnage. Le rapport propose une analyse détaillée des causes et des mécanismes de ce recul de la productivité dans ces industries. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2024-09-1.pdf)