In Ontario, manufacturing sales were down 2.6% to $31.8 billion in February, mainly on lower sales of motor vehicles. PHOTO courtesy Honda.
Manufacturing sales decreased in nine provinces in February, primarily driven by lower sales in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, Statistics Canada records show. Prince Edward Island was the only province where sales were unchanged.
In Alberta, sales declined 9.6% to $8.8 billion in February, after a prominent growth in January. The petroleum and coal product industry (-27.3%) and to a lesser extent, the chemical industry (-8.3%) drove the sales down, whereas the machinery (+12.5%) and fabricated metal (+11.6%) industries led the increase. Despite a monthly decrease, total sales were up 2.5% in February on a yearly basis.
In Ontario, sales were down 2.6% to $31.8 billion in February, mainly on lower sales of motor vehicles (-12.4%), petroleum and coal products (-4.2%) and primary metals (-4.7%). Partially offsetting the decline was higher sales in the electrical equipment, appliance and component industry (+14.3%). Compared with the same month in 2022, total sales increased 7.7% in February.
Sales in Quebec decreased 1.6% to $17.7 billion in February, as lower sales in the transportation (-8.9%) and petroleum and coal product industries were partially offset by higher sales in the chemical (+12.8%) and machinery (+8.4%) industries. On a yearly basis, total sales were up 1.3% in February.
In Prince Edward Island, sales held steady at $274.0 million in February, as increases in the durable goods industries (+10.5%) were offset by decreases in the non-durable goods industries (-4.3%).
Edmonton sales decrease the most
Manufacturing sales fell in 10 of 15 selected census metropolitan areas in February, led by Edmonton and followed by Québec. Meanwhile, sales in Toronto grew the most.
In Edmonton, sales recorded the largest monthly decrease, down 15.1% to $4.1 billion in February, almost entirely driven by lower sales of petroleum and coal products (-26.1%). Despite a monthly decline, total sales were up 1.6% in February compared with the same month of last year.
Sales in Québec were down for the third consecutive month, decreasing 10.8% to $1.9 billion in February, on lower sales of petroleum and coal products. Partly offsetting the drop were higher sales in the beverage and tobacco product industry.
In Toronto, sales increased for the second consecutive month, rising 1.1% to $12.9 billion in February, the highest on record. The monthly gain was primarily on higher sales in the motor vehicle industry (+4.9%), whereas the motor vehicle parts industry (-6.6%) recorded the largest decrease. Year over year, total sales rose 12.4% in February.
