Primary metals is one of the manufacturing industries with the largest sales decrease for February according to the flash estimate conducted by Statistics Canada. PHOTO by Pexels.
After a surprisingly strong January, Canadian manufacturing sales declined 2.8% in February, advance results from Statistics Canada indicate.
The largest decreases of interest to metalworking were in the motor vehicle and primary metal and food industries.
January had seen increases in 16 of 21 manufacturing industries tracked monthly by Statistics Canada. The numbers are a likely testament to the current market volatility.
Back in January sales of motor vehicles had increased for three consecutive months, up 13.4% to $4.8 billion in January 2023, the highest level since July 2020. Sales of motor vehicle parts, which had been increasing for four consecutive months, were up 2.7% to $3.0 billion in January, the second highest level on record. Exports of motor vehicles and parts increased 8.2%.
Statistics Canada’s “flash estimate” was calculated based on a weighted response rate of 60.0%. The average final response rate for the survey over the previous 12 months has been 94.2%. As Statistics Canada continues to collect data for the February reference month, this early indicator is subject to a higher revision rate than its regular monthly release.