“The mining business, in our view, is in a cyclical rebound, and the oil and gas business will be stable,” Murray Mullen, chair, CEO and president of Mullen Group Ltd., said in a television interview.Mullen spoke with BNN Bloomberg about the outlook for his business on Thursday after his company released first-quarterHe said it was a “pretty good first quarter for our organization,” despite some pullback in consumer spending on freight, as people spend more on leisure activities.
That shift “creates a bit of a void in the freight business like ours,” Mullen said. But it’s been counterbalanced by strength in Canada’s oil and gas and mining industries amid a rush for critical minerals – a trend he said has helped the Canadian market perform a bit better than the U.S. as economic activity cools.
While big diversified companies like his are positioned to do well in a high interest rate environment, Mullen said small business may struggle in the months ahead. He also said labour pressures have eased so far in 2023, with his company currently able to fill roles and not looking to downsize despite an unpredictable immediate future for the economy.
“I would say it’s in balance,” he said of the labour market. “We’re not hiring right now – the economy, we don’t see it growing – but we’re not downsizing either.”