Manufacturing continues to show signs of ongoing recovery in Canada suppored by the latest manufacturing numbers from Statistics Canada that point to a 3rd straight month of growth for manufacturing sales.
Manufacturing sales increased for the third consecutive month, up 1.1 per cent to $54.6 billion in May. The gain was mainly attributable to higher sales in the transportation equipment and chemical manufacturing industries.
Sales were up in 16 of 21 industries, representing 71 per cent of the manufacturing sector. Sales of durable goods rose 2.2 per cent, while sales of non-durable goods declined 0.3 per cent.
Manufacturing sales rise
Manufacturing inventory levels edged down 0.2 per cent to $73.7 billion in May, following five months of gains.
Inventory levels edge down
Inventories fell in 8 of the 21 industries, with the aerospace products and parts (-2.6 per cent) and the chemical (-2.0 per cent) industries recording the largest declines. These decreases were partially offset by a 1.8 per cent increase in primary metal inventories.
The inventory-to-sales ratio declined from 1.37 in April to 1.35 in May. This ratio measures the time, in months, that would be required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current level.
Unfilled orders decline
Unfilled orders fell 1.5 per cent to $89.1 billion in May, following three months of gains. Most of the decrease was attributable to a drop in unfilled orders in the aerospace products and parts industry.
These declines were partially offset by an increase in unfilled orders in the fabricated metal product and machinery industries.
New orders declined 3.6 per cent to $53.3 billion in May, following five months of gains. The decrease mostly reflected lower new orders in the aerospace product and parts industry. These declines were partially offset by higher new orders in the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts industries.
