If Statistics Canada's advance estimate for August proves accurate, manufacturing sales have grown for the second consecutive month following a decline in June. PHOTO courtesy Flow.
Total Canadian manufacturing sales rose 1.0% in August, according to an advance estimate provided by Statistics Canada.
If the advance estimate proves accurate that would make for the second consecutive month of manufacturing sales growth following a decline in June.
Statistics Canada provides advance estimates of sales in the manufacturing sector to help the industry stay on top of rapidly evolving market changes. The August estimate was calculated based on a weighted response rate of 67.2%. The average final response rate for the survey over the previous 12 months has been 94.5%. As Statistics Canada continues to collect data for the August reference month, this early indicator is subject to a higher revision rate than our regular monthly release.
Following a 2.0% decline in June, Canadian manufacturing sales had bounced back in July, increasing 1.6% to $71.9 billion despite the negative impact from the British Columbia port strike during the month, according to Statistics Canada.
Sales in constant dollars rose 0.9% in July, while the industrial product price index increased 0.4% month over month.
Fabricated metal product manufacturing sales outpaced the national average, growing by 3.4% for the month of July and an impressive 9.5% year-over-year. Primary metal manufacturing sales performed almost as well during the month, growing by 3.3%. Year-over-year, however, sales were down slightly, shrinking by 0.4%.
The port strike in British Columbia disrupted supply chains primarily on the west coast of Canada and had moderate impacts on manufacturing activities. At the national level, the port strike impacted 13.2% of manufacturing plants in July, mainly through shortages of raw material (8.8%) and disruptions in transportation (4.9%).
Sales of motor vehicles rose 3.5% to $5.8 billion in July, the highest level since May 2017. Sales of motor vehicle parts rose 3.5% to $3.3 billion in July 2023, following a significant decline in June. Easing of global supply chains has helped auto manufacturers to produce and sell more motor vehicles, contributing to the higher sales for July. Exports of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts rose 2.1% in July.
