The drop in the petroleum industry resulted in a drop in manufacturing sales for Alberta in March while retooling at automotive plants was mainly responsible for Ontario's manufacturing sales decline. PHOTO courtesy Red Deer Polytechnic.
Manufacturing sales declined in eight provinces in March, led by Ontario (-2.4%) and Alberta (-5.3%), according to Statistics Canada’s Monthly Survey of Manufacturing.
Manitoba posted the largest increase (+1.4%).
Sales in Ontario declined 2.4% to $30.7 billion in March, the lowest level since September 2022. Lower sales of motor vehicles (-7.9%) were mainly responsible for the decline in March 2024. Lower production due to retooling at several auto assembly plants was mainly responsible for the decline. On a quarterly basis, total sales in Ontario fell 0.5% to $93.9 billion in the first quarter of 2024.
In Alberta, sales were down 5.3% to $8.3 billion in March, mainly on lower sales in the petroleum and coal (-7.3%) and chemical product (-10.5%) subsectors. The petroleum and coal subsector also contributed to a 7.6% decline in total sales in Edmonton in March.
Sales in Manitoba rose 1.4% to $2.3 billion in March, largely on higher sales of chemicals. The gains were partially offset by lower sales in the transportation equipment subsector. With the increase posted for March, total sales in Manitoba rose 2.7% in the first quarter of 2024.
