Canada ranks 1st of 33 economies on processing margin — and pays for it in wages
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — October 14, 2026 — Canada has the best processing margin of the 33 economies ranked in Intratec's Industry Economics & Competitiveness 2025 Annual Review, 1st of 33: the gap between what raw materials cost and what the finished product sells for is wider in Canada than anywhere else the report tracks. Overall, Canada ranks 11th of 33, the same place it held last year.
The report scores 33 countries, together more than 80% of global manufacturing output, as places to make industrial commodities such as plastics, fertilizers and industrial metals. All 33 are assessed on the same basis across 14 pillars — costs any plant faces, such as wages, energy and taxes, and advantages specific to each industry, such as access to raw materials — which feed a single 0–100 Country Score. Processing margin is one of those pillars. South Africa ranks 2nd on it and Saudi Arabia 3rd; of the other countries the edition profiles in depth, Germany ranks 6th, the United States 9th and China 23rd.
No single cost line explains Canada's standing: the country does well across the board rather than winning on price, and its margin comes at a price. Manufacturing labor costs about $38.7 an hour, one of the dearer wage bills of the 33, though below the $50.8 paid in the United States. Getting product to customers is where Canada gives ground: logistics and infrastructure rank 26th of 33, and access to foreign markets 23rd. The edition calls it a trade-off, not a bargain.
Bruno Maia, Lead Analyst, Industry Economics & Competitiveness, said: “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.”
The rest of the cost base is solid. Canada ranks 5th of 33 for its tax environment and 8th for macroeconomic stability, and employers pay a charge of just 10% on top of wages. Building a new plant costs 0.97 times the US price, and industry pays $19.3 per MMBtu for energy, less than the $22.3 the United States pays. In the Americas, Canada sits just outside the top ten, behind the United States at 9th.
The Industry Economics & Competitiveness 2025 Annual Review covers calendar year 2025 and shows all 33 countries, nothing withheld. The ranking is free to read, and the methodology is open for inspection with no login and no subscription.
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