Canadian manufacturing inventories hit record levels in April, the latest data from Statistics Canada reveal.
Total inventories climbed 2.3 per cent in April to the record high of $111.8 billion. This was the sixteenth month in a row of rising inventory levels as higher inventories in the machinery and chemical industries more than offset the marked inventory decline of motor vehicles.
With inventories slightly outpacing sales, the inventory-to-sales ratio inched up from 1.54 in March to 1.55 in April. This ratio represents the number of months it would take to completely clear inventories assuming sales remain at their current level.