Monitoring The Impact Of The Japan Earthquake

With a massive earthquake near the 9.0 mark on the Ricther scale hitting Japan last week, the world is now in full relief-mode. Gearing up to assist the nation recover from immeasurable damage and the more than 16,000 confirmed deaths so far, people all over the globe are very well aware that the recovery process will be a long and arduous one.

Earlier this week, the Synergy Merchant Services Blog listed a number of ways that you may be able to help out with the relief effort in Japan. We humbly encourage you to donate what you can towards this worthy cause. Just as we did with Haiti and Chile last year, we hope to assist in the relief effort as much as possible.

We also blogged, this week, about the potential impact that the Japan earthquake and following tsunami may have on the Canadian economy. Today Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew of The Toronto Star reports that it is likely to have a minimal effect. According to experts, the impact of the earthquake on Canada is expected to be limited.

Said Paul Taylor, the chief investment officer for BMO Harris Private Banking: “Our view is that the dominant factor as we go forward will be the pace of the U.S., economic recovery, but we are very concerned with the other factors as well. While there is trade between Japan and Canada, it’s secondary to north-south trade with the U.S.”

Acharya-Tom Yew notes that while Japan is the world’s third-largest economy, only three per cent of Canadian exports go to the country. In one of our blogs this week, it was mentioned that Canada’s lumber industry may see a boost due to the reconstruction necessary in Japan.

According to Taylor, Canadian lumber products and engineering construction firms are bound to be in high demand in order for Japan to rebuild roads, bridges, power plants, ports and homes. The quake is also bound to impact the auto industry as well. Japan’s Toyota plants are currently shut down.

Long before we can consider the impact of the Japan earthquake on the Canadian economy, however, it is important to consider the impact it is having on the lives of Japan’s citizens. It is our hope that the world will remain swift and diligent in its efforts to assist the nation with all the help it can get at this extremely difficult time.