Contents
- What Canadian office equipment imports statistics cover
- Canadian metal filing cabinet imports: value and importer concentration
- Canadian metal office desk imports: value and importer concentration
- Canadian metal office table imports: excluding tracing tables
- Other metal office furniture: the largest measured category
- How to interpret these Canadian office equipment import figures
- Sources
What Canadian office equipment imports statistics cover
The available 2024 figures cover four Canadian import categories for metal furniture used in offices: filing cabinets, desks, tables other than tracing tables, and other metal office furniture. Together, these categories recorded Can$198,410,766 in imports. That combined figure is the sum of the four product-code totals below; it is not a measure of all office equipment entering Canada.
The categories are based on Canadian Importers Database product codes 9403100010, 9403100091, 9403100092 and 9403100099. Each value describes imports from all countries in 2024. The database also reports how import value accumulates across the largest importers, making it possible to compare concentration within each product category.
| Metal office-furniture category | 2024 imports (Can$) | Top 3 importers’ share | Top 10 importers’ share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filing cabinets | 26,829,151 | 40.72% | 72.36% |
| Desks | 33,959,670 | 32.55% | 62.24% |
| Tables, excluding tracing tables | 25,009,333 | 44.44% | 58.59% |
| Other metal office furniture | 112,612,612 | 23.89% | 38.59% |
Sources: Canadian Importers Database, metal filing cabinets; metal office desks; metal office tables, excluding tracing tables; other metal office furniture. The concentration shares refer to cumulative import value attributed to the named number of largest importers.
The broadest of these four categories, “other metal office furniture,” accounts for more than half the combined value. The other three categories each fall between Can$25 million and Can$34 million. Concentration also differs: the top three importers represented less than one quarter of the “other” category, compared with roughly one third to just under half of imports in the other categories.
Canadian metal filing cabinet imports: value and importer concentration
Canada imported Can$26,829,151 in metal filing cabinets used in offices in 2024. The three largest importers accounted for Can$10,925,619, or 40.72% of that total. The six largest reached Can$16,120,381 (60.09%), and the ten largest accounted for Can$19,414,647 (72.36%).
| Largest importers, cumulatively | Import value (Can$) | Share of category imports |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 10,925,619 | 40.72% |
| 6 | 16,120,381 | 60.09% |
| 10 | 19,414,647 | 72.36% |
| 17 | 21,484,023 | 80.08% |
| All | 26,829,151 | 100.00% |
Source: Canadian Importers Database: metal office filing cabinets, code 9403100010. Values are for 2024 imports from all countries.
The first three importers together represented just over two-fifths of the category; reaching four-fifths required the 17 largest. These figures show concentration in import value, but do not identify the importers here or indicate whether individual firms are manufacturers, distributors, retailers, or end users.
Canadian metal office desk imports: value and importer concentration
Metal desks used in offices had the highest total among the three specifically named product types. Their 2024 imports were Can$33,959,670. The top three importers accounted for Can$11,052,438, or 32.55%. The top ten accounted for Can$21,137,789 (62.24%), and the top 30 for Can$27,183,641 (80.05%).
| Largest importers, cumulatively | Import value (Can$) | Share of category imports |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 11,052,438 | 32.55% |
| 6 | 16,589,009 | 48.85% |
| 10 | 21,137,789 | 62.24% |
| 20 | 25,219,453 | 74.26% |
| 30 | 27,183,641 | 80.05% |
| All | 33,959,670 | 100.00% |
Source: Canadian Importers Database: metal office desks, code 9403100091. Values are for 2024 imports from all countries.
Compared with filing cabinets, desk imports had a lower top-three share and needed a larger group—30 importers—to pass the 80% mark. The database’s reported thresholds also show the share rising gradually as more importers are included: the top 15 represented 69.72%, and the top 25 represented 77.55%. This describes the distribution of import value, not the number of desks imported or the size of the Canadian office-furniture market.
Canadian metal office table imports: excluding tracing tables
The table category covers metal tables used in offices other than tracing tables. Its 2024 import total was Can$25,009,333. The top three importers accounted for Can$11,115,174, equal to 44.44% of the total. The top ten represented 58.59%, while the top 54 reached 80.49%.
| Largest importers, cumulatively | Import value (Can$) | Share of category imports |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 11,115,174 | 44.44% |
| 6 | 13,200,377 | 52.78% |
| 10 | 14,651,892 | 58.59% |
| 20 | 16,908,796 | 67.61% |
| 54 | 20,129,734 | 80.49% |
| All | 25,009,333 | 100.00% |
Source: Canadian Importers Database: metal office tables excluding tracing tables, code 9403100092. Values are for 2024 imports from all countries.
Among the four categories, office tables had the highest top-three concentration, at 44.44%. Yet the top ten accounted for less of the category than the top ten did for filing cabinets. The difference between those two observations is a reminder that concentration depends on the size of the importer group being compared. A high share for the leading few does not by itself describe the remainder of the importer distribution.
Other metal office furniture: the largest measured category
The “other” category—metal furniture used in offices not specified by the three other product codes—recorded Can$112,612,612 in imports in 2024. The top three importers accounted for Can$26,903,014, or 23.89%. The top ten accounted for Can$43,460,697 (38.59%), while the top 20 represented just over half, at 50.08%.
| Largest importers, cumulatively | Import value (Can$) | Share of category imports |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 26,903,014 | 23.89% |
| 6 | 36,013,969 | 31.98% |
| 10 | 43,460,697 | 38.59% |
| 20 | 56,399,487 | 50.08% |
| 25 | 60,555,621 | 53.77% |
| 179 | 90,592,192 | 80.45% |
| All | 112,612,612 | 100.00% |
Source: Canadian Importers Database: other metal office furniture, code 9403100099. Values are for 2024 imports from all countries.
This category is larger in import value than the other three combined, which total Can$85,798,154. Its importer distribution is also less concentrated at the leading edge: 179 importers were needed to exceed 80% of import value, compared with 17 for filing cabinets, 30 for desks and 54 for tables. That contrast may help readers distinguish a large category from one dominated by a small number of importers. The data do not explain the category’s composition beyond the product-code description.
How to interpret these Canadian office equipment import figures
These statistics are product-specific import values and cumulative importer shares for a single year, 2024. They are not a time series, so they cannot show whether imports grew or declined. They also do not provide quantities, average prices, country-of-origin shares, domestic production, exports, or end-use information. Import value alone cannot establish why one category is larger or more concentrated than another.
The article uses “office equipment” in the keyword’s broad sense, but the evidence here is specifically about four metal office-furniture codes. It does not cover all goods that might be considered office equipment, such as computers, printers, supplies, or non-metal office furniture. The four-category total therefore should not be read as Canada’s total office equipment imports.
The concentration measures are cumulative: for example, a top-ten share includes the three largest importers and the next seven, rather than describing only the tenth importer. They indicate how much of recorded import value is associated with the largest importers in each code. They do not establish market share in Canadian sales, firm ownership, or economic influence.