Five provinces, led by Ontario and Alberta, led the jump in manufacturing sales in May. PHOTO courtesy Heidenhain.
Manufacturing sales increased in five provinces in May, led by Ontario and Alberta. Quebec posted the largest decline, Statistics Canada reports.
Ontario sales rose 3.2% to $32.9 billion in May, mainly on higher sales of chemical products (+15.2%), motor vehicle parts (+6.2%) and motor vehicles (+4.2%). The motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts industries also contributed to the higher total sales in Toronto (+5.4%) and Windsor (+10.6%).
In Alberta, sales increased 3.9% to $9.4 billion in May, mainly on higher sales of petroleum and coal (+6.8%) and food products (+2.8%). Despite declines in prices of refined petroleum energy products (including liquid biofuels) since January 2023, sales of petroleum and coal products have been trending upward since March 2023. On a year-over-year basis, total sales in Alberta were down 0.4% in May.
In Quebec, sales fell 2.5% to $17.7 billion in May, primarily driven by a 13.2% decrease in primary metal manufacturing. Slowdowns in global economic activities contributed to the decline. With the monthly decrease in May, total sales in Quebec were 4.0% lower compared with May of last year. Despite the decline in total sales in Quebec, Montréal total sales rose 3.0% to $8.8 billion in May, mainly on higher sales of chemical products and petroleum and coal products.
