The relationship between the 1991 SGC and the 1996 SGC is shown using two concordance tables. The first table shows the relationship of the 1996 SGC to the 1991 SGC. The second table shows the relationship in the other sequence, that is, the 1991 SGC to the 1996 SGC. The two tables, taken together, provide a cross-reference of the relationships between the two classifications.

The concordance tables are shown at the lowest level of both classifications, namely the census subdivisions (municipalities). These tables highlight the differences between the census subdivisions (CSDs) of the two classifications, information that is useful when converting data from one classification to the other. (Note that to make the tables simpler the concordance tables are partial. Most of the CSDs have been omitted from these tables whether there was not any change affecting those CSDs or whether the change did not have a direct impact upon the SGC, for example, a partial annexation, and a boundary or population revision of CSDs).

The changes affecting CSDs have been grouped into three categories under the remark column. The first category: Changed to indicates that the name, status, and/or code of a CSD have been changed. The second category: Part of relates one CSD on the left side of the table to only part of a CSD on the right. The third category Equivalent to shows (1) a "one to one" relationship where the CSD on the left is equivalent to one full CSD on the right, (2) a "one to many" relationship: a CSD on the left is equivalent to two or more CSDs (full CSDs and/or part of CSDs) on the right. When one 1991 CSD relates to parts of one or more 1996 CSDs, and vice versa, an asterisk is used to indicate that only a part of the CSD relates to the one against which it is shown.

The concordance is presented in the form of tables arranged in the sequence of each classification. The table 1996 SGC – 1991 SGC presents the concordance in the order of the 1996 SGC, with the 1996 SGC code shown on the left side of the table; the table 1991 SGC – 1996 SGC presents the concordance in the order of the 1991 SGC, with the 1991 SGC code shown on the left side of the table. The illustrative examples below were taken from these two tables, respectively.

Example 1:
the CSDs in both classifications are identical, only the name, status and/or code have changed.

Example 2:
A CSD in one classification is equivalent to part of a CSD in the other classification.

When the concordance relates one CSD on the left to only part of a CSD on the right, this partial relationship is denoted by an asterisk against the code on the right. (Note that the asterisk marked CSD will reappear, against all the CSDs, to which it partially relates.)

A CSD in one classification is linked to only one CSD in the other classification.

A CSD in one classification is linked to more than one CSD in the other classification.

How to find partial relationships in the concordances

The various components of a given CSD in one classification are sometimes found in CSDs that are quite distant from one another in the order and format of the other classification. In example four above, the 1996 SGC code 4803011* is partially related to 1991 SGC code 4815003. To find the remaining 1991 SGC code(s), to which 1996 SGC 4803011 relates, the user should turn to the other concordance table, where the CSDs are arranged in the 1996 SGC order. The user will find that the 1991 SGC code 4803011 is also related to the 1996 SGC code 4803011.

Users are cautioned that data coded to one classification cannot automatically be converted to the other with the help of these concordance tables.

In addition to the contents of these tables, the other changes such as partial annexations, and boundary and population revisions which are not shown here should be considered by users interested in the exact boundaries and population counts of CSDs. This information is available in the "Interim List of Changes to Municipal Boundaries, Status and Names" prepared by Geography Division.

Supplement

• Nunavut data dissemination guidelines

Nunavut came into being officially as a Territory of Canada on April 1, 1999. The province/territory numeric code for Nunavut is 62 whereas the code for the Northwest Territories remains 61.

While as yet there is no official abbreviation for Nunavut, the standard abbreviation established for use within Statistics Canada is Nvt. in English and Nt in French.

Canada Post has introduced a new alpha code (NU) for Nunavut on December 18, 2000.

What was known as the Northwest Territories until April 1, 1999, is now divided into Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Users should be aware that although there is a significant boundary change for the Northwest Territories, the name and code remain the same.

The five census divisions (CDs) of Northwest Territories listed in the 1996 Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) are divided as follows: Baffin Region (04), Keewatin Region (05) and Kitikmeot Region (08) are part of Nunavut whereas Fort Smith Region (06) and Inuvik Region (07) remain within the Northwest Territories. At the lower level of the SGC (census subdivision - CSD), 37 of 68 CSDs remain within the Northwest Territories and 31 CSDs are included in Nunavut. These changes do not impact population counts at the CSD level.

The following convention was used for coding the geographic units (component parts of codes are preserved as much as possible). For the geographic units of Nunavut, the first two digits of the SGC code have been changed (from 61 to 62) whereas the original CD and CSD codes have been retained. However, the new boundary between Nunavut and Northwest Territories shows a part of Kitikmeot, unorganized, including the hamlet of Hollman, remaining within the Northwest Territories. Consequently, Hollman becomes part of Inuvik Region (CD code changes from 08 to 07). Other changes that do not affect SGC codes are boundary adjustments for the unorganized territories along the new boundary.

Finally, there are two CSD name changes since the release of the 1996 SGC:

For all changes to these two territories see: Northwest Territories and Nunavut

Nunavut: Data Dissemination Guidelines

NUNAVUT came into being officially as a Territory of Canada on April 1, 1999.

Data Dissemination

Divisions releasing data at the provincial/territorial level, are expected to produce data for the territory of Nunavut starting April 1999, even if the reference period predates the creation of Nunavut. This may be done by collecting and using actual data or by using and documenting a methodology, to estimate and split the data between the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Divisions that have not done so or are unable to do so, should take special note of the rules relating to data presentation shown below.

This note does not yet address the issue of the rules to be followed with respect to data suppression for reasons of confidentiality and quality. This matter is under discussion and will be addressed separately.

Data Presentation

NUNAVUT came into being officially as a Territory of Canada on April 1, 1999. The name Northwest Territories applies to a Territory with different geographic boundaries before and after April 1, 1999.

The following applies to data released in print, through CANSIM or electronically.

For data released after April 1999, when the data refer to the period before April 1,1999, Divisions are required to be careful to footnote (in publications) data relating to the Northwest Territories (N.W.T.), either Northwest Territories (including Nunavut), as defined before April 1, 1999 or Northwest Territories (excluding Nunavut), as defined after April 1, 1999, depending upon the geographical area to which the data refer.

For data released after April 1999, through CANSIM, when the data refer to the period before April 1, 1999, either the data relating to the Northwest Territories should be labeled, Northwest Territories (including Nunavut) or two new series should be started labeled Northwest Territories (excluding Nunavut) and Nunavut.

It is expected that for reference periods after April 1999, separate data for the two Territories will be published. However, if combined data for the two territories are published, for reference periods after April 1999, the data should be labeled Northwest Territories and Nunavut. If for any reason, data relating only to the Northwest Territories (as defined after April 1,1999) are shown, the data should be labeled Northwest Territories (excluding Nunavut)

(As mentioned in the Supplement to the Geographical Standard, the abbreviation for the Northwest Territories is N.W.T. and for Nunavut is Nvt. in English and Nt in French)

Alpha code for Nunavut.

Since December 18, 2000, the alpha code officially used for Nunavut is NU.

Background information

• Introduction
• Province or Territory
• Census Division
• Census Subdivision
• Structure of the SGC
• SGC Coding
• Naming Geographical Units
• SGC Update
• Census Division Changes
• Census Subdivision Changes
• Metropolitan Area
• Metropolitan Area Changes
• Economic Region
• Economic Region Changes
• Abbreviations

Introduction

The Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) is a classification of geographical areas used to collect and disseminate statistics. The SGC was developed to enable the production of integrated statistics by geographical area. It provides a range of geographical units that are convenient for data collection and compilation and useful for spatial analysis of economic and social statistics. It is intended primarily for the classification of statistical units, such as establishments or households, whose activities are normally associated with a specific location.

The SGC is based on a classification system originally developed for the dissemination of statistics from the Census of Population.

The SGC conforms to the basic principles of classification, that is, it consists of a set of discrete units which are mutually exclusive and in total, cover the entire universe. Usually, a classification appears as a hierarchy, each level of which satisfies the above-mentioned principles and is defined by the uniform application of a single criterion. Applied to geography, these principles result in a classification consisting of geographical areas whose boundaries are specifically delimited in accordance with well-defined concepts and which, in total, cover the entire landmass of Canada. The classification appears as a three-level hierarchy of geographical units identified by a seven-digit numerical coding system.

Two criteria were used in the selection of geographical units for the SGC. The first was that they be easily recognized by the respondents who are asked to report geographical detail. Administrative units were chosen because respondents routinely conduct business with administrative units such as a municipality, county or province.

The second criterion was the usefulness of the geographical units for general statistical purposes. Once again, administrative units are suitable because they are significant users of statistics in establishing and implementing programs involving the expenditure of public funds and also because the general public can readily associate statistics on this basis with the names and boundaries of administrative units.

The SGC identifies three types of geographical unit:

1. province or territory (12),
2. census division (288),
3. census subdivision (5,984).

Province or Territory (PR)

Reflecting the primary political subdivision of Canada, this is the most permanent level of the SGC.

Census Division (CD)

This is a general term applying to areas established by provincial law, which are intermediate geographical areas between the municipality (census subdivision) and the province. Usually they are created to facilitate regional planning and the provision of services which can be more effectively delivered on a scale larger than a municipality.

In Newfoundland, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, provincial law does not provide for such administrative geographical areas. Therefore, equivalent census divisions have been created by Statistics Canada in co-operation with these provinces for the dissemination of statistical data. In the Yukon Territory, the census division is equivalent to the entire territory.

Census division boundaries tend to be relatively stable over many years. For this reason the census division has been found useful for analysing historical data on small areas.

Census divisions are classified into various types. The type indicates the legal status of the census division according to official designations adopted by provincial authorities. The exception is the CD type "census division" which describes those units created as equivalents by Statistics Canada in co-operation with the provinces.

Census Subdivision (CSD)

This is a general term applying to municipalities (as determined by provincial legislation) or their equivalents, e.g., Indian reserves, Indian settlements and unorganized territories. Municipalities are units of local government.

Beginning with the 1981 Census, each Indian reserve and Indian settlement recognized by the Census is treated as a separate CSD and reported separately. Prior to the 1981 Census, all Indian reserves in a census division were grouped together and reported as one census subdivision.

For 1996, there is a total of 996 Indian reserves classified as CSDs. Statistics Canada works closely with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada to identify the reserves to be included as CSDs. Populated (or potentially populated) Indian reserves, which represent a subset of the approximately 2,300 Indian reserves across Canada, have been recognized as census subdivisions by Statistics Canada.

In Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia, the term "census subdivision" also describes geographic areas that have been created by Statistics Canada in co-operation with the provinces as equivalents for municipalities for the dissemination of statistical data.

There are two municipalities in Canada which straddle provincial boundaries, Flin Flon (Manitoba and Saskatchewan) and Lloydminster (Saskatchewan and Alberta). Each of their provincial parts is treated as a separate CSD.

Census subdivisions are classified into various types according to official designations adopted by provincial or federal authorities. The census subdivision type accompanies the census subdivision name in order to distinguish CSDs from each other, for example, Kingston, C (for the city of Kingston) and Kingston, TP (for the township of Kingston).

The following six CSD types are new for 1996:

• chartered community (CC) in Northwest Territories;
• northern town (NT) in Saskatchewan;
• regional municipality (RGM) in Nova Scotia;
• rural community (RC) in New Brunswick;
• specialized municipality (SM) in Alberta;
• "terre inuite" (TI) in Quebec;

and the CSD type "sans désignation" (SD) in Quebec was changed to the CSD type "municipalité" (M) to conform to provincial terminology.

Structure of the SGC

Each of the three sets of areas covers all of Canada. They are hierarchically related: census subdivisions aggregate to census divisions, which in turn aggregate to a province or a territory.

The structure is implicit in the seven-digit SGC code, as shown in the following illustration, which uses the code for the city of Oshawa.

SGC Coding

At the outset, numerical codes were adopted for ease of use and clarity. Furthermore, numbers were universally applicable to all of the data processing machines in use at that time.

The use of numerical codes continues but the number of digits in the code changed from six to seven in 1976, when a three-digit code was adopted for census subdivisions because the number of census subdivisions in one census division exceeded 99.

Provinces are numbered from east to west. Because the number of provinces and territories exceeded nine, a two-digit code was adopted. The first digit represents a group of provinces or territories. The following groups result:

1. Atlantic
2. Quebec
3. Ontario
4. Prairies
5. British Columbia
6. Territories

The following conventions were used to create the coding system and continue to be used in its maintenance.

1. The codes usually follow a serpentine pattern beginning in the southeast corner of each province/territory or CD. In this way, adjacent code numbers usually represent geographical units that share a common boundary. Exceptions are found in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where census divisions are numbered in a straight line from east to west, returning to the eastern border when the western border is reached. Also, in Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, Indian reserve codes are included in the 800 series of numbers, whereas in the other provinces they are accommodated within the serpentine numbering pattern for census subdivisions.
2. In order to provide the flexibility required to maintain the coding system over the years, the numbering is not sequential (except for CDs, which are more stable). Gaps in the numbering sequence leave opportunities to incorporate new geographical units within the numbering sequence.
3. Codes should not be used more than once. However, a code could be reused if at least two editions of the SGC have appeared. For example, a code deleted in 1981 would not become eligible for use again until 1996.
4. Component parts of codes are preserved as much as possible. For example, when a new CD is created, the original CSD codes are retained where possible.

Naming Geographical Units

The following procedure is applied in selecting names for geographical units:

1. Official names are used where they are available. The names of incorporated local and regional municipalities are taken from provincial gazettes, where official notification of acts of incorporation for new municipalities and changes to existing municipalities are published.
2. Most official names are accepted as published, but some are edited by Statistics Canada for the sake of consistency and clarity. For example, the official name "City of Ottawa" was edited and appears in the SGC as "Ottawa".
3. The remaining names are created by Statistics Canada in co-operation with provincial and other federal officials.

SGC Update

The 1996 SGC presents standard geographical areas as of January 1, 1996. It includes any changes to municipalities, effective on that date or earlier, received by Statistics Canada before March 1, 1996.

Information received after March 1, 1996, has not been included, therefore provincial or territorial authorities may notice some small discrepancies compared to their official records.

Several hundred changes are made to census subdivisions every year. These changes may affect boundaries, codes, names, or types. Changes to the census division level also occur periodically. Most changes originate from provincial legislation (revised statutes and special acts), changes to Indian reserves originate with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, and other changes come from Statistics Canada.

Legislated changes are effective as of the date proclaimed in the legislation. Other changes are effective January 1, usually of the reference year for the SGC.

The Standard Geographical Classification is released every five years, coincident with the Census of Population. For most statistical applications, holding the geography in a statistical series constant for this length of time is an acceptable compromise between stability and existing reality. Observations at five-year intervals are suitable for historical trend analysis, yet for current series, a tolerable degree of distortion occurs.

An annual summary of changes is available from the Geography Division, upon request. This may be of interest to data collectors wishing to compile data that reflect the actual boundaries of census subdivisions.

The 1996 Concordance tables present for the period between January 2, 1991 and January 1, 1996 the changes that impact directly upon the SGC, such as changes of code, name, or type, and indicate how the new and old codes relate to one another.

The other changes such as partial annexations, and boundary and population revisions, which do not affect the SGC codes and usually involve very small areas and populations, are not shown in the Concordance tables. They are available however in the "Interim List of Changes to Municipal Boundaries, Status and Names" prepared by Geography Division.

Census Division Changes

A significant revision at the CD level since 1991 affected the province of British Columbia. A new CD, named Fraser Valley Regional District (59 09), was created from the following three Regional Districts: Fraser-Cheam (59 09), Central Fraser Valley (59 11) and Dewdney-Alouette (59 13). This change has resulted in a decrease of 2 in the number of CDs, the 1996 total reaching 288. In addition, the Regional District of Greater Vancouver (59 15) was extended with the annexation of five census subdivisions that were components of the Regional District of Dewdney-Alouette (59 13). As result, in 1996, the Regional District of Greater Vancouver (59 15) is equivalent to the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) of Vancouver. Finally, a transfer of the southwest tip of Kitimat-Stikine Regional District (59 49) to Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District (59 47) led to the revision of two SGC codes.

Other changes have affected the boundaries of some CDs to a greater or lesser extent. Among those are revisions of SGC codes that have modified the boundaries of two counties in New Brunswick: Restigouche (13 14) and Gloucester (13 15), the boundaries of four MRCs in Quebec: D'Autray (24 52), Joliette (24 61), Matawinie (24 62), and Les Pays-d'en-Haut (24 77), and the boundaries of four census divisions in Alberta: Division No. 3 (48 03), Division No. 12 (48 12), Division No. 15 (48 15), and Division No. 16 (48 16). These revisions of SGC codes are listed in the 1996 Concordance tables.

In addition, five CD names were changed in Quebec. Two new names: Minganie – Basse-Côte-Nord and Nord-du-Québec were adopted (previously Minganie – Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent and Territoire nordique), and the orthography of the three "communautés urbaines" (Communauté-Urbaine-de-l'Outaouais, Communauté-Urbaine-de-Montréal, and Communauté-Urbaine-de-Québec) was modified to follow the writing rules of "La Commission de toponymie du Québec".

Census Subdivision Changes

The changes affecting CSDs have been grouped into twelve types for the manual, each represented by a particular code. (For the Internet version, see also How to Read a Concordance Table).

New SGC codes (code 1) are assigned to newly created CSDs. Such CSDs are:

1. created out of another census subdivision, typically a municipality created from a populated area located in a rural or unorganized census subdivision; or
2. created when two or more census subdivisions amalgamate.

In the latter case the entries, including SGC codes, for all of the census subdivisions contributing to the newly created census subdivision are deleted (code 4).

Also affecting the SGC code are revisions arising from structural changes, such as the reorganization of CDs. This type of change (code 7) simply indicates a revised code number, with no other change having affected the CSD.

Changes in CSD name (code 2) or CSD type (code 3) do not affect the SGC code, but the Classification file is updated. For 1996, all CSD types "sans désignation" (SD) in Quebec have been changed to the CSD type "municipalité" (M) to conform with provincial terminology. This global change does not appear in the Concordance tables because the whole province is affected. Instead, an explanatory note is included to explain that change in CSD type.

The most numerous changes are partial annexations (codes 5 and 6), boundary revisions (codes 8 and 9) and population revisions (codes 10 and 11), which do not affect the SGC codes, and usually involve very small areas and populations. These changes are not listed in the Concordance tables, but they can be found in the publication entitled "Interim List of Changes to Municipal Boundaries, Status and Names" prepared by Geography Division.

Since January 2, 1991, a total of 3,442 CSD changes have been recorded. Excluding CSD type revisions (from "SD" to "M") in Quebec, these changes affected 1,489 of the 6,006 CSDs that existed in 1991, and resulted in a net reduction of 22 CSDs over the period. Of the total number of changes, 458 affected the CSD code (28 of them due to structural changes), 157 affected the name and 587 affected the status (485 of them due to a global change for Quebec). Boundary changes and revisions (2,158), and population revisions (82) accounted for the remaining 2,240 changes. Since 1991, CSD boundary changes affected 84 census divisions.

Metropolitan Area (MA)

Metropolitan areas are part of the standard statistical areas and include the Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA) and the Census Agglomerations (CA). Metropolitan areas represent a small portion of the Canadian territory. Each CMA and CA is assigned a three-digit code that identifies it uniquely in Canada. As a rule, the first digit is the same as the second digit of the province code in which the CMA or CA is located (except in the Territories).

The general concept of these standard units is one of an urban core, and the adjacent urban and rural areas that have a high degree of social and economic integration with that urban core.

A CMA is delineated around an urban core with a population of at least 100,000, based on the previous census. Once an area becomes a CMA, it is retained as a CMA even if the population of its urban core declines below 100,000. Census agglomerations (CAs) are centred on urban cores with populations of at least 10,000.

A CMA/CA describes the zone of influence of an urban core according to the measure of commuting flows derived from census place of work data. It is delineated using adjacent municipalities (census subdivisions) as building blocks. These census subdivisions (CSDs) are included in the CMA or CA if they meet at least one delineation rule. The three principal rules are:

1. The CSD falls completely or partly inside the urban core.
2. Given a minimum of 100 commuters, at least 50% of the employed labour force living in the CSD, as determined from the 1991 place of work commuting flow data, works in the urban core.
3. Given a minimum of 100 commuters, at least 25% of the employed labour force working in the CSD, as determined from the 1991 place of work commuting flow data, lives in the urban core.

A CMA or CA represents an area that is economically and socially integrated. However, there are certain limitations to the manner in which this goal can be met. Since the CSDs that are used as building blocks in CMA and CA delineation are administrative units, their boundaries are not always the most suitable with respect to CMA and CA delineation. Especially in western Canada, CSDs may include large amounts of sparsely settled territory where only the population closest to the urban core is integrated with that core. Furthermore, since CMA/CA boundaries for the 1996 Census are based on 1991 place of work commuting flow data, they may not reflect the current boundaries or the current social and economic integration of the urban area.

CMAs and CAs, because they are delineated in the same way across Canada, are statistically comparable. They differ from other types of areas, such as trading, marketing, or regional planning areas designated by regional authorities for planning and other purposes, and should be used with caution for non-statistical purposes.

For the most part, the delineation rules for CMAs and CAs are the same in 1996 as they were in 1991. However, in order to provide an improved representation of social and economic integration, a minor adjustment was made to the spatial contiguity rule: a minimum set of CSDs was substituted for the census consolidated subdivisions (CCS).

Metropolitan Area Changes

There were no new CMAs in 1996, whereas two new CAs in Ontario were created (Smiths Falls and Strathroy) and three CAs (Kirkland Lake, Ont.; Selkirk, Man.; and Weyburn, Sask.) were retired because the population of their urban core declined below 10,000 in 1991.

Between 1991 and 1996, a number of component CSDs of the CMAs and CAs underwent name changes, amalgamations, annexations, and dissolutions. As a result, in 1996, a part of the former St. John's Metropolitan Area was excluded from the CMA of St. John's and there were changes to four CA names: Fort McMurray, Matsqui, Sarnia - Clearwater, and Sydney were respectively changed to Wood Buffalo, Abbotsford, Sarnia, and Cape Breton.

Economic Region (ER)

This is a standard unit created in response to the requirement for a geographical unit suitable for the presentation and analysis of regional economic activity. Such a unit is small enough to permit regional analysis, yet large enough to include enough respondents that, after data are screened for confidentiality, a broad range of statistics can still be released.

The regions are based upon work by Camu, Weeks and Sametz in the 1950s. At the outset, boundaries of regions were drawn in such a way that similarities of socio-economic features within regions were maximized while those among regions were minimized. Later, the regions were modified to consist of counties which define the zone of influence of a major urban centre or metropolitan area. Finally, the regions were adjusted to accommodate changes in CD boundaries and to satisfy provincial needs.

An ER is a geographical unit, smaller than a province, except in the case of Prince Edward Island and the Territories. The ER is made up by grouping whole census divisions, except for one case in Ontario, where the city of Burlington, a component of the Halton Regional Municipality at the CD level, is excluded from the economic region of Toronto and is included in the Hamilton – Niagara Peninsula ER, which encompasses the entire CMA of Hamilton. ERs appear as a hierarchy covering all the country.

ERs may be economic, administrative or development regions. Within the province of Quebec, economic regions are designated by law ("les régions administratives"). In all other provinces, economic regions are created by agreement between Statistics Canada and the provinces concerned.

Economic Region Changes

For 1996, the ER replaces the 1991 standard unit called the "Subprovincial Region (SPR)", as a result of the adoption of a single set of areas in which SPRs and the Labour Force Survey (LFS) economic regions were merged. The main geographic change has been the adoption of eleven LFS economic regions for Ontario, which replace the five subprovincial regions from 1991. In addition, the economic region codes and names have been standardized.

Abbreviations

1996 version of the SGC

The Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) is Statistics Canada's official classification of geographic areas in Canada. The SGC provides unique numeric codes for three types of geographic areas: provinces and territories, census divisions (counties, regional municipalities), and census subdivisions (municipalities). The three geographic areas are hierarchically related; a seven-digit code is used to show this relationship. In addition the two other areas, Metropolitan Areas and Economic Regions are recognized as standard geographic areas in the SGC.

HTML format

• Archived Background information Archived
• SGC 1996 - Classification structure
• Metropolitan areas - SGC 1996
• Economic Regions - SGC 1996

CSV format

• SGC 1996 - Classification structure - CSV version (CSV, 266.55 KB)
• SGC 1996 - Elements - CSV version (CSV, 1.8 MB)

Changes to SGC 1996

• Archived Supplement Archived – April 1, 1999
  • Nunavut: a new territory of Canada

Products

• Volume I, The Classification (12-571-XPB)
• Volume II, Reference Maps (12-572-XPB)

Structure

Notes: SCTG Classification Highlights

1. Fish, which is classified in 01, "Live animals and live fish" does not include seafood. Seafood, which is classified in 05204, "Seafood...", consists of crustaceans, molluscs, and other aquatic invertebrates.
2. Live fish are classified in 01 with live animals, but live seafood are classified in 052, with other processed seafood and with fish except live.
3. SCTG 0334, "Fresh or dried nuts", does not include fresh or dried peanuts (ground nuts), which are classified in 03501, "Peanuts, not roasted, including for sowing", but processed or prepared peanuts are included in the same category as similarly prepared nuts, in SCTG 07232, "Processed or prepared nuts, peanuts, or seeds, except shelled and purées and pastes, but including roasted nuts, peanut butter, and mixtures of processed nuts".
4. Seeds for sowing are classified in several areas in SCTG. Cereal grain seeds are classified in 02, "Cereal grains"; leguminous vegetable seeds are classified in 03221, "Leguminous vegetables such as peas and beans, and seeds"; soya bean seeds are classified in 034, "Soya beans"; seeds for other oil seeds are classified in 035, "Oil seeds and nuts, except olives and soya beans"; seeds for spices are classified in 07303, "Spices including unprocessed"; and miscellaneous seeds are classified in 03602, "Seeds for sowing n.e.c., including sugar-beet, grass and other forage, tobacco, ornamental flowers, trees, vetches, lupines, and vegetables except seed vegetables".
5. Products of animal origin are classified in several areas in SCTG. Meat and edible meat offal is classified in 05, "Meat, fish, seafood and preparations"; dairy products are classified in 071, "Dairy products except chocolate milk, eggnog, and food preparations of milk"; animal fats and oils are classified in 074, "Animal or vegetable fats and oil and their cleavage products, prepared edible fats, animal or vegetable waxes, and flours and meal of oil seeds"; and miscellaneous products of animal origin are classified in 041, "Cereal straw or husks, forage products, residues and waste from the food industries used in animal feeding, and eggs and other products of animal origin n.e.c.".
6. SCTG 062, "Malt, starches, inulin, wheat gluten, and milled or otherwise worked grains except wheat flour, groats, and meal" also includes non-grain products such as potato flakes and flour and pea flour.
7. SCTG 0724, "Juices except those fortified with vitamins or minerals, but including mixtures" includes neither nectars nor fortified juices, which are classified in 07899, "Other including ice, nectars, chocolate partially skimmed milk, strawberry-flavoured milk, eggnog, non-alcoholic beer or wine, and juice fortified with vitamins or minerals, not concentrated".
8. SCTG 076, "Confectionery, cocoa, and cocoa preparations" does not include sugarless sweets such as sugarless gum, which are classified in 07799, "Other including protein concentrates, vegetable preparations for flavouring, jelly powders, sugarless gum, milk or cream substitutes, canned mincemeat, cheese fondue, concentrated juice fortified with vitamins or minerals, tofu, and vinegar".
9. Ice, classified in 07899, does not include dry ice (carbon dioxide), which is classified in 20241, "carbon dioxide".
10. SCTG 1002, "Monumental or building stone except calcareous and dolomite" also includes slate.
11. Non-metallic minerals are classified in several areas in SCTG. Monumental or building stone is classified in 10; natural sands are classified in 11; gravel and crushed stone are classified in 12; fertilizer minerals such as potassium chloride, and carnallite, sylvite, and other crude natural potassium salts are classified in 22, "Fertilizers and fertilizer materials"; and miscellaneous non-metallic minerals are classified in 13, "Non-metallic-minerals n.e.c.".
12. SCTG 199, "Other products of petroleum refining and coal products" also include some unrefined bituminous minerals such as natural asphalt, tar sands, and asphaltites and asphaltic rocks.
13. SCTG 21, "Pharmaceutical products" does not include foods or beverages such as dietetic, diabetic, or fortified foods, which are classified in 07, "Prepared foodstuffs n.e.c. and fats and oils"; aqueous solutions of essential oils and toilet preparations, which are classified in 232, "Essential oils and resinoids, and perfumery, cosmetics, or toilet preparations"; soaps and cleaning preparations, which are classified in 233, "Soap, organic surface-active agents, cleaning preparations, polishes and creams, and scouring preparations"; inputs to the manufacture of pharmaceutical products, which are classified in 20503, "Sulphonamides, provitamins and vitamins, hormones, glycosides or vegetable alkaloids and their derivatives, antibiotics, and chemically pure sugars n.e.c. such as galactose, sorbose, xylose, trehalose, and raffinose"; or plasters for use in dentistry, which are classified in 31939, "Other articles of plaster or of composites based on plaster including models and casts used in the manufacture of dental prostheses, and plaster and putty including for making metal-casting moulds".
14. SCTG 22, "Fertilizers and fertilizer materials" includes chemicals used as or in fertilizers, such as nitric acid, phosphoric acid, and ammonia, even if they are to be used for non-fertilizer purposes.
15. SCTG 291, "Printed books, brochures, leaflets, and similar printed products" does not include catalogues, which are classified in SCTG 293, "Advertising materials, commercial or trade catalogues, and similar printed products", stationery books such as exercise books and accounting journals, atlases, or music books, which are classified in 299, "Other printed products".
16. SCTG 302, "Textile clothing and accessories, and headgear except safety" does not include leather or fur garments, which are classified in 305, "Leather and articles, luggage and related products, and dressed furskins and articles"; or sport equipment, which are classified in 402, "Toys, games, and sporting equipment"; but it does include artificial fur and artificial leather garments, as well as plastic or rubber clothing.
17. Foil is deemed to be a basic shape and therefore, classified in SCTG 32, "Metal in primary or semi-finished forms and in finished basic shapes". It is classified in 322, if of iron or steel; 32411, if of copper; 32423, if of aluminum; and 32499, if of other non-ferrous metals. It should be noted that for Canadian purposes only, nickel and zinc have been broken out to SCTG 32492 and 32493 respectively. For comparison purposes, Canadian data for 32492, 32493, 32499 should be compared to U.S. data for SCTG 32499.
18. Articles of precious metal include anything that contains "pure" precious metals or clad with precious metals. Articles that are only coated with precious metals are not deemed to be precious-metal articles.
19. Parts and accessories are classified with the products to which they apply, unless otherwise specified.
20. SCTG 3413, "Parts of internal-combustion piston engines" does not include fuel-injection or oil pumps, which are classified in 3431, "Pumps for liquids"; engine crank shafts and cam shafts and gear-boxes, which are classified in 3497, "Ball or roller bearings, transmission shafts and cranks, bearing housings and plain shaft bearings, gears and gearing, ball and roller screws, gear boxes and other speed changers, flywheels and pulleys, and clutches and shaft couplings"; or electrical ignition or starting equipment and spark plugs, which are classified in 35991, "Ignition or starting equipment and spark plugs used for spark-ignition or compression-ignition internal combustion engines, generators including dynamos and alternators, cutouts used with internal combustion engines, and ignition wiring sets including wire assemblies".
21. SCTG 345, "Materials-handling, excavating, boring, and related equipment" includes self-propelled construction and mining machinery.
22. SCTG 35621, "Computer software" includes instruction manuals if packaged with the software. Separately presented software and other computer manuals are classified in 291.
23. SCTG 3552, "Office equipment" does not include photocopying machines, which are classified in 3822, "Photocopying and thermocopying apparatus".
24. Military vehicles are classified according to their primary function. Those designed to transport only a few men are classified in 361, "Motor vehicles for the transport of less than 10 people except motorcycles, armoured fighting vehicles, snowmobiles, golf carts and similar vehicles, and parts"; those designed to transport many men are classified in 3632, "Vehicles for the transport of people with a seating capacity of 10 or more persons, except parts"; those designed to transport goods are classified in 362, "Motor vehicles for the transport of goods and road tractors for semi-trailers, except parts"; and those designed to fight military battles are classified in 36391, "Armoured fighting vehicles including tanks and parts".
25. Waste and scrap does not include agricultural or food waste and scrap, which is primarily classified in SCTG 041, "Cereal straw or husks, forage products, residues and waste from the food industries used in animal feeding, and eggs and other products of animal origin n.e.c.". A separate class has been created for garbage, SCTG 41901, since the metal, glass, and wood components cannot be identified as the waste categories of SCTG 41 require. In addition, these other components have some inherent value, where as the garbage does not.
26. Some most-detailed SCTG categories contain HS or SCG components that, in theory, apply to more than one SCTG category, but which, in practise have been "forced" to what was deemed to be the single-most appropriate SCTG category. As an example, see HS 0204.50, "Meat of goats [including frozen]" is forced to SCTG 05111, which is fresh meat.

Introduction

The Standard Classification of Transported Goods (SCTG) consists of a blend of transportation characteristics, commodity similarities, and industry-of-origin considerations, designed to create statistically significant categories. It is a structured list that is defined at its less-detailed levels according to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS), and at more-detailed levels, according to patterns of industrial activity. Other factors in the definition of categories were transportation considerations such as volume, revenue, value, origin, and destination.

SCTG is a Canada-U.S. initiative, designed to provide categories for the 1997 U.S. Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) and to improve the integration of Canadian transportation data, particularly for marine, truck, and rail. The classification is also designed to permit comparison of Canadian and U.S. transportation data. In addition, because of its HS basis, SCTG can be used for other international comparisons. SCTG is an important development in the creation of an integrated system of classification that is used for economic analysis, covering production, shipments, and international trade.

Currently, Canadian transportation data are compiled according to three different classifications. The Standard Commodity Classification (SCC), which is the former Statistics Canada commodity standard, continues to be used for rail and truck data, whereas marine data for several years have been based on the Standard Classification of Goods (the SCG, which is Canada's extension of the HS). In addition, rail and truck data are not grouped in the same way, because truck data are based directly on the SCC, whereas rail data are obtained by converting to the SCC the Standard Transportation Commodity Code (STCC) of the Association of American Railroads (AAR). Truck data and most marine data are collected by Statistics Canada according to the detail provided on shipping documents and grouped into a few hundred categories. In contrast, Statistics Canada receives only aggregated rail data.

The U.S. used the STCC for the collection and publication of 1993 CFS data, but it was inadequate, because, among other weaknesses, STCC is primarily a rail-carrier-based classification. The CFS, however, is a shipper survey that collects information about commodities shipped by all modes, as well as intermodal movements. The SCTG has been designed to provide commodity groupings that better reflect goods transported by all modes.

Classification Structure and Data Significance

The structure of the SCTG is hierarchical, consisting of four levels that contain groupings based on HS or SCG "building blocks". These groupings are designed to create statistically significant transportation categories. The SCTG follows the classification principles that each level covers the universe of transported goods, and that each category in each level is mutually exclusive. These levels range from a minimum of 42 categories to a maximum of 512 categories.

The first, or two-digit, level consists of 42 HS-based categories, and is designed to provide analytically-useful commodity groupings for those users who are interested in an overview of groupings of transported goods. Where possible, these categories consist of industry-of-origin groupings within HS definitions.

The second, or three-digit, level consists of 137 HS-based categories. At this level, the categories consist of goods for which very significant product movements are expected to be recorded in both Canada and the U.S., thus providing the best basis for Canada-U.S. comparisons. There are two exceptions to the use of HS categories at the three-digit, or international, level. The first exception relates to non-food waste products (SCTG 41). In most cases, the HS identifies such waste, but where it does not, SCG detail was used to group these products. The other exception is for refined petroleum and coal products (SCTGs 17-19), which are defined according to SCG details in order to compensate for the lack of international agreement about useful sub-headings of HS 27.10.

The third, or four-digit, level consists of 291 HS- or SCG-based categories. This level of the SCTG is designed to create categories that reflect industry patterns and transportation characteristics that are often not provided for in HS categories. Data-wise, these categories are more important than those of the most-detailed level of the SCTG, and often consist of portions of HS categories as defined by SCG detail. It is likely that Canada will only use a selection of four-digit SCTG categories, because of confidentiality, insignificant data, or data-reliability issues.

The fourth, or five-digit, level consists of 512 HS- or SCG-based categories. This level, which often consists of SCG detail, is the collection level for the CFS, with each category designed to capture significant data that reflects industry patterns and transportation characteristics. For multimodal Canadian data, only some of the five-digit categories will be used, because many of these categories will yield only insignificant data. For data relating to single modes, however, more of the five-digit categories will be useful. In Canada, this level is not a collection level, but the first possible level of aggregation of the micro detail obtained from shipping documents for marine and truck transport. For rail data, the aim will be to continue to receive data obtained from the detailed STCC categories, but aggregated according to the SCTG. The richness of detail at this five-digit level is sufficient to accommodate those situations where a Canadian product is relatively more important to Canada than it is to the U.S., particularly where it is difficult to track shipments from one country to the other.

The SCTG is defined by HS or SCG codes only at the three-, four-, and five-digit levels, for presentation purposes. Many of the 42 categories at the two-digit analytical level would be defined by only one or a few codes. Others, however, would require extensive lists of codes, which are not as useful in defining the contents of these less-detailed categories as they are for the more-detailed distinctions.

Although the blend of the criteria used to create the SCTG resulted in four different levels of categories, many of the categories are identical at more than one level. One grouping--"Pharmaceutical Products" (SCTG 21)--is even identical at all four levels. In this case, four different criteria coincide at each level. The most-detailed, or collection, level corresponds to an industry-of-origin grouping, which is identical to an HS category that, in turn, is identified as an analytically useful product description.

For Canadian use only, the SCTG includes an additional category (42), which is subdivided into 4 three-digit categories that are further disaggregated into 16 categories. The first of the three-digit categories relates to mail and parcels. The contents of parcels cannot be identified, nor can the contents of mail other than items such as advertising flyers. It should be noted that, in the CFS, mailed parcels constitute one of the seven modes for which commodity information is collected. The contents of the second category, "Trailers on flat cars (TOFC), containers on flat cars (COFC), and other shipping containers, returned empty", are identified, but constitute transported goods for which there are no associated direct revenues, in that they are a cost of the provision of transportation services. The third category, which consists of unidentified freight or cargo, is associated with revenues, but the generally smaller size of the individual shipments results in their assembly with other small shipments in containers, thus forming a grouping that is impractical to identify by component. The fourth category relates to "Goods on company service". This covers significant movement of goods, which are owned by the transporting company and do not generate revenue. This might include the movement of service equipment to service rail cars in need of repair.

Classification According to Transportation Characteristics

The combination of the HS and SCG provides many thousands of categories to use as building blocks in the development of a standard classification of transported goods. Data significance was used to select appropriate categories for the SCTG, starting with the most aggregative categories and working down to the most detailed categories, according to the criteria of significance established for each of the four levels. The creation of SCTG categories was usually done by selecting from the structure of the HS or SCG (i.e., by using HS or SCG categories), or by grouping HS or SCG categories to form more significant categories. Both the individual categories or their groupings within the structure tend to follow industry lines, because each most-detailed category of the HS generally contains only the outputs of a single industry (although there are many exceptions), and transportation of these products is based on the characteristics of these products. Sometimes, however, SCTG categories were formed from HS or SCG categories that cut across the structure of the HS, in order to group products according to their shipping characteristics. In the SCTG, for example, raw agricultural products, such as tobacco leaves and sugar beets, were grouped because they are moved in bulk by similar kinds of transportation equipment.

Relationship to Industries-of-Origin

The more-detailed levels of the SCTG can be associated with four-digit industry classes for both the Canadian and American SICs, as well as NAICS. This is because, with the exception of residual categories, most four- and five-digit SCTG categories primarily contain the products of only one industry. This feature will facilitate comparison with industry data, as well as with other classifications based on the U.S. SIC, such as the U.S. Numerical List of Manufactured and Mineral Products (Product Codes) and the STCC.

Relationship to Other Commodity Classifications

In Canada, detailed HS or SCG categories are used to define the inputs and outputs of goods for industries as well as for classifying imports and exports. Comparison of these categories and those of the SCTG can thus be achieved by grouping such categories into the relatively few transportation categories.

In the U.S., imports and exports are HS-based, thus they can be compared to the SCTG, by grouping these much-more-detailed commodity categories into the relatively few transportation categories. For industrial commodity data, however, the U.S. uses an SIC-based Numerical List of Manufactured and Mineral Products. This list of products can only be compared to the SCTG by grouping the product codes to their SIC level, and then grouping them to their corresponding four-or five-digit SCTG categories.

Difficulties in Creating Data-Significant Categories

In developing the SCTG it was difficult to make reliable judgements about the significance of possible HS- or SCG-based categories, for several reasons. Firstly, the most-current U.S. CFS data (1993) were collected according to the STCC and only the most-aggregative-level data (48 categories) had been released at the time of the development of the SCTG. Secondly, these data could only be linked to HS categories through the use of a concordance developed by the AAR that links U.S. import categories to STCC, and the quality of this concordance had not been determined. Thirdly, Canada has good SCG-based transportation data, but only for marine. Rail data continue to be reported according to STCC categories, and truck data, according to a sample of commodities that are organized according to Canada's old commodity classification. Several years ago, SCG-based classifications had been developed for each of rail and trucking, but never used. At that time, related linkages were developed. These linkages were utilized to convert 1992 and 1994 data into proxy SCTG data. Finally, taking into account all of the relevant classifications involved in developing the SCTG, there was an enormous amount of detail to contend with. Despite all these challenges, the SCTG should provide much better data than is currently available.

Difficulties in Designing SCTG

Almost always the HS "building blocks" enabled the creation of categories that are useful for the classification of transported goods, but these categories had to recognize the limitations of the HS categories, which sometimes caused problems. For one group of products, for example, a small amount of adjustment had to be made. SCTG 32 covers metal basic shapes and 33 covers articles of metal. Many of the categories of HS Chapter 81 (the less-important base metals) have been assigned to either SCTG 32 or 33 according to SCG details. Of these SCG categories, a few consist of both basic shapes and articles, but they have been assigned to either SCTG 32 or 33, based on relative importance.

"Parts" are difficult to categorize, and it is difficult to distinguish between parts and accessories. The aim in categorizing parts was to use an approach that is as useful as possible from a reporting and identification perspective. In the SCTG, parts are normally associated with the machinery, equipment, or apparatus without which these products could not operate. This association works well for those shipments of new goods, which are often accompanied by additional parts. It also seems to work well for separate shipment of replacement parts, as their identification is usually in relation to the goods of which they form a part. Parts that are associated with a wide range of machines and equipment, however, are not easy to deal with. In such cases, the HS was used as a basis to define these parts as separate pieces of equipment in their own right (e.g., all pumps are together in SCTG, including motor vehicle fuel-oil pumps). The HS was also used to define motor vehicle parts. Despite these definitions, however, it is the respondents that ultimately have to be relied on to appropriately identify parts.

The HS generally does not make a distinction between paper and paperboard. In order to obtain industry-friendly groupings of these products, however, it was necessary to make these distinctions. SCG details were utilized, as was technical information about the products.

Agricultural products was a difficult grouping to compile, because its components are drawn from several different areas of the HS.

Both chemicals and textiles are organized differently in the HS than they are in industrial classifications. For SCTG purposes, these products were re-grouped.

Data Continuity

For users of CFS data, a concordance will be required to assist in linking the 1993 STCC-based survey results to those of the 1997 SCTG-based results. This could be done by directly comparing the two classifications, but would require many difficult-to-make decisions about the considerable number of instances where the two classifications are not compatible. It could also be done indirectly, by utilizing the AAR concordance of STCC to U.S. import tariffs, but only after the quality of this concordance has been determined. Because the AAR concordance uses the HS-extended tariff codes, it has the same basis as the SCTG categories. The immensity of this concordance, however, is a major problem, but it should be noted that its use will also be considered for data continuity purposes by Canada and for use in production of current data.

For Canadian data, the concordance that will link current data for marine transport to future SCTG-based data can utilize the fact that current data are based on the SCG. Truck data would have to be linked by a concordance that relates SCC-based truck categories to the SCTG, but it can be based on the recent work done by Transportation Division to provide proxy SCTG categories for truck data, as well as marine and rail data. This work utilized the concordances between SCC-based data for truck and rail and the SCG-based classifications for these two modes that had been prepared by Standards Division several years ago. With regard to rail data, it might be possible to link it to the SCTG by also utilizing the AAR concordance of STCC to U.S. import tariffs, rather than directly concording SCC-based rail categories to the SCTG. In any case, it will be difficult to link SCC-based rail categories because they have already been converted from STCC-based categories (in other words, a two-stage conversion of data will be required).

Changes to the HS

As of January 1988, forty-five countries first used the HS for international trade data. Canada also introduced the HS into its manufacturing data as of that year. The U.S., however, did not start using the HS for international trade data until January 1989 and is currently working on the future introduction of the HS into its manufacturing data.

As of January 1996, about 500 changes were made to the HS. These changes include new 6-digit categories, revisions to the coverage of some 4-digit categories as well as to 6-digit categories, and a chapter change for one 4-digit group of commodities. All of the 1996 changes have been incorporated into SCTG. In comparing the revised HS to its earlier version, it should be noted that sometimes the same codes continue to be used for categories that have been revised.

Hazardous Materials

The SCTG does not identify specific categories of products as being hazardous, nor does it include a special grouping of its categories under the title of "hazardous". This is because the HS does not include degree of hazardousness as a classification criterion. The STCC does, however, contain an additional listing of categories that are considered to be hazardous materials, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has produced a list of about 3,000 categories of hazardous products, but it is not based on the HS. There is, however, a class for hazardous chemical waste products. (See waste)

Implementation of, and Possible Future Changes to, SCTG Categories

Once the SCTG has been used by the U.S. for the 1997 CFS, information about the usefulness of the various categories, particularly the most-detailed ones, will become available. This information could be used to make some minor changes, but major changes would have a serious impact on data continuity.

In Canada, the SCTG can be incorporated into marine transport statistics with the least impact on data continuity, because these statistics are collected according to SCG-based classifications. This incorporation will require a re-grouping of data obtained from the "library" of reported descriptions that had been coded several years ago to the most-detailed level possible of the SCG. The process of determination of significant categories will result in a unique version of SCTG for marine data (i.e., the categories of the standard will be adjusted when required to reflect only categories important to marine transport). A similar re-grouping will be required for truck data. Rail data should be changed as soon as possible from the current STCC-converted-to-SCC basis to a STCC-converted-to-SCG basis, utilizing the AAR's concordance of STCC to U.S. import categories. Once data are obtained for these three series, consideration could be given to making minor changes to the SCTG.

In Canada, the SCTG will also be used to produce multimodal statistics. The comparison of marine, truck, and rail data will be based on those SCTG categories that are common to these three modes. For analytical purposes, all of the SCTG two-digit categories should be included in this comparison. For Canada-U.S. purposes, and for purposes of international comparison, ideally data for all of the three-digit categories should also be made available. At the four- and five-digit levels, however, there will only be some SCTG categories for which multimodal data are available.

For U.S. purposes, the five-digit level was designed to be the collection level of the CFS, with the less-detailed levels available for analysis or publication. Because each level of the SCTG covers all transported goods, however, the more-aggregated levels might also be used to assist in data collection--particularly, the three-digit level, which is the universally defined HS level.

It is hoped that this classification will prove useful for a variety of transportation applications and will be adopted by those who find it useful for collection and analysis of transportation data.

Procedures Used in SCTG Category Descriptions

In order to achieve consistency, a number of procedures were established:

1. HS terminology is used, unless it was deemed necessary to adjust it to reflect North American (Canada-U.S.) usage. SCTG categories that are defined exclusively by a single HS heading or subheading usually are identical to such headings, so long as they were written from a "stand-alone" perspective. The advantage of using HS terminology is that it is often defined or described in the HS Notes.
2. Two types of identification are used for residual categories. "Other..." is used in the title of residual categories whose content is defined by the immediately higher-level category minus specified categories. Categories beginning with "other" can be found at the 3-, 4-, or 5-digit levels and are identified by codes ending in "9" or "90". "N.e.c." is used in the title of residual categories that contain products, some of which are identified elsewhere in SCTG. Categories ending with "...n.e.c." appear only at the 2-digit level.
3. "Including... " followed by a list of examples is used extensively in the description of 5-digit categories only. The list of products following "including" are not meant to be exhaustive of the universe of the category, but to include the more important examples as well as the less-obvious ones, with the intention of providing users with an understanding of the range of products covered by the category.
4. "Except..." is used to identify those products that could be considered to be part of a particular category but that, for SCTG purposes, are not included in the category. "Except..." is used at all levels of the SCTG, but mostly at the 3-, 4-, or 5-digit levels.

SCTG Development Team

The Team consisted of, from Statistics Canada: Keith Hannett and Andreas Trau of Standards Division, under the direction of Shaila Nijhowne, and Louis Pierre, under the direction of Michel Cloutier and Tricia Trépanier (and, earlier, David Dodds) of Transportation Division; from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Volpe Centre: Nat Bottigheimer, under the direction of Mike Rossetti; and Walter Neece, on contract to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, under the direction of Jim Aanestad.

Classification

The following table displays the Standard Classification of Transported Goods (SCTG). The first column gives the SCTG number. The following column gives its description while the last column contains the HS/SCG 1996 codes.