# Canada Turns the Widest Processing Margins of 33 Economies, and Ranks 11th Overall
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — September 3, 2026 — Canada ranks 1st of 33 economies for processing margin — the gap between what raw materials cost and what the finished product sells for — in Intratec's Industry Economics & Competitiveness 2025 Annual Review, published today. No other country the report tracks turns raw materials into product value at a wider gap. Canada finishes 11th of 33 overall, the same place it held last year, on a score of 50.5, down 0.1% year-on-year.
Processing margin, 2025
The review compares 33 economies on the same basis across 14 pillars — among them manufacturing and construction labor costs, industrial energy prices, taxation and market access — with findings drawn across 7 industries.
The margin does not come from a cheap cost base. Manufacturing labor in Canada costs about $38.7 an hour, counting everything an employer pays — one of the dearer wage bills of the 33. Industrial energy costs $19.3 per MMBtu, below the $22.3 the United States pays and above China's $18.5. Building a plant costs 0.97 times the US price, slightly cheaper than in the United States itself, and employers pay a charge of 10% on top of wages. Canada ranks 5th of 33 for its tax environment and 8th for macroeconomic stability. No single cost line explains the standing: the country does well across the board rather than winning on price.
Two countries come closest on the same measure. South Africa ranks 2nd of 33 for processing margin and Saudi Arabia 3rd. Germany ranks 6th and the United States 9th. China, first overall for the eleventh consecutive year, ranks 23rd on margin.
> "No other country of the 33 we track turns raw materials into finished product as profitably as Canada. That margin, not a cheap cost base, is what has carried the country four places up the table over the decade, from 15th to 11th."
>
> — Bruno Maia, Lead Analyst, Industry Economics & Competitiveness
Getting product to customers is where Canada gives ground. Logistics and infrastructure rank 26th of 33 and access to foreign markets 23rd. Freight costs sit at 18th. Industrial output ranks 9th and commodity prices 13th. The best margin of the 33, paid for with expensive labor and a longer road to market, is a trade-off rather than a bargain.
Canada's own position is unchanged this year, and so is the top of the table. China closed 2025 on top for an eleventh straight year, and the top five — China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Thailand — held their exact 2024 positions; movement began at 6th, where Singapore and the Philippines traded places. In the Americas, the United States finishes 9th, Canada 11th, Colombia 12th, Mexico 15th, Chile 22nd and Brazil 30th. Ranks 8 through 33 sit inside a 4.4-point band, so a small score move shifts several places; Canada's rank did not move.
The Industry Economics & Competitiveness 2025 Annual Review is free to read, and its methodology is open.
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