Manufacturing sales dipped 1.1 per cent in October: StatsCan

Dragged down in part by a decline in the machinery industry, manufacturing sales fell 1.1 per cent to $50.4 billion in October, the third consecutive decrease according to Statistics Canada.

Petroleum and coal products and aerospace products and parts were also responsible for the overall drop, StatsCan said. “Sales were down 5.7 per cent to $4.5 billion in the petroleum and coal product industry, due in part to maintenance work at some refineries that began in September,” the agency said.

The aerospace product and parts industry fell 10.3 per cent to $1.6 billion, the agency continued, while machinery sales fell 4.6 per cent in October to $2.8 billion.

The fall-off in machinery sales “largely reflects lower sales in the commercial and service machinery manufacturing sub-industry…which tends to fluctuate on the basis of the completion of large projects,” StatsCan said.

Sales declined in five provinces in October, StatsCan said, with New Brunswick posting the largest decrease in dollar terms. “In New Brunswick, sales fell 23.9% to $1.1 billion in October, as a result of lower non-durable goods sales,” StatsCan said. “Manufacturing sales in the province have been on a generally downward trend since April 2015, when they were $1.5 billion. Since then, sales have declined 28.2%.”

Sales in Quebec declined 2.1% to $11.8 billion in October, while Alberta manufacturing sales were down 1.9% to $5.5 billion. “In Ontario, sales rose 0.6% to $24.4 billion, offsetting some of the declines in the other provinces. The gain stemmed from a 4.8% increase in the motor vehicle assembly industry,” StatsCan said. “This was the fifth sales increase in the motor vehicle assembly industry in six months.”