Canadian manufacturing sales increased in August although fabricated metal products didn't contribute to the gains. PHOTO courtesy DCM.
Canadian manufacturing sales rose 0.7% to $72.4 billion in August on higher sales in 9 of 21 subsectors, according to Statistics Canada.
The fabricated metal products sector, however, did not partake in the gains. Sales of fabricated metals were down 3.5% from the previous month. Despite the dip in month to month sales, fabricated metal products sales were still strong enough in August to be 5.1% ahead of the same period in 2022. Also sales had increased 3.1% the previous month.
The monthly increase for Canadian manufacturing overall was due mostly to higher prices as sales in real terms decreased in August (-0.7%). The Industrial Product Price Index rose 1.3%.
The impact of the port strike in British Columbia on the manufacturing sector was smaller in August compared with July. At the national level, 8.4% of manufacturing plants reported that their manufacturing activities were impacted by the strike in August, mainly through shortages of raw materials (5.0%) and transportation disruptions (3.7%).
