According to Roberts, "What Howe started in 1940 was an Industrial Revolution, so widespread that most Canadians were unaware of its extent or of its penetration into the country's economy."[59] Although there had been increases in production throughout the first three years of the war, the minister's efforts truly bore fruit in 1943, in which Canada had the fourth-highest industrial production among the Allies, trailing only the US, USSR, and Britain. By 1944, Canada had produced over 600 ships for the war effort, 1,100 aircraft, and over half a million cars and trucks, of which 31,000 were armoured. According to Roberts, Howe's actions swung Canada's economy from agriculture-based to industrial, a change which would prove permanent.[60] Howe stated in 1943, "Never again will there be any doubt that Canada can manufacture anything that can be manufactured elsewhere."[61]