After a slight decrease in April, manufacturing shipments in Canada remained virtually unchanged in May (-0.1%) at  ; $49.7  ; billion. Manufacturing shipments had trended slowly downwards throughout most of  ; 2006, before posting a strong first quarter in  ; 2007.
Manufacturers continued to face several challenges during May. The Canadian dollar appreciated significantly against its American counterpart, reaching a 30-year high by the end of May. In addition, the Labour Force Survey reported a  ; 0.6% drop in manufacturing employment during the month, a loss of  ; 12,300  ; jobs.
Despite these challenges, the volume of manufacturing shipments, using constant dollars, rose  ; 0.4% to  ; $45.5  ; billion. After increasing in seven …
