Canadian manufacturing sales rose 0.3 percent to C$51.5 billion (US$38.3 billion) in September, according to Statistics Canada. The gain reflected higher sales in the transportation equipment and fabricated metal industries.
Sales were up in 12 of 21 industries, representing 70.1 percent of the total manufacturing sector. In constant dollar terms sales edged down 0.2 percent, indicating that lower volumes of manufactured goods were sold in September. Prices for the manufacturing sector rose 0.4 percent in September according to the Industrial Product Price Index.
Sales in the transportation equipment industry rose 1.5 percent in September. The advance was the result of gains in the railroad rolling stock (+72.6 percent), the motor vehicle (+1.3 percent) and the aerospace product and parts (+3.8 percent) industries. The increase in the transportation equipment industry accounted for more than 85 percent of the total gain in manufacturing sales.
Fabricated metal product producers reported a 2.4 percent increase in sales, following two consecutive monthly declines. The gain in September was the largest since May 2015 and stemmed from higher sales in the architectural and structural metals, machine shops, and other fabricated metal products industries.
These increases were partly offset by a 3.4 percent decline in the primary metal product industry. The decline in September follows two consecutive gains and was concentrated in the iron and steel mills and ferro-alloy industry and in primary production of alumina and aluminum.
Sales were up in five provinces in September. Quebec and Ontario reported the largest gains, which were partly offset by lower sales in New Brunswick.
Sales rose 1.7 percent in Quebec, the fifth increase in six months. Production in the aerospace products and parts rose 9.2 percent. An increase of this magnitude is not unusual for the industry, as aerospace production is substantially more volatile than the manufacturing sector as a whole. Sales of electrical equipment appliance and component (+10.9 percent), food (+1.4 percent) and primary metals (+1.2 percent) industries also contributed to the provincial gain.
In Ontario, sales increased 0.3 percent, mostly reflecting gains in the machinery, transportation equipment and fabricated metal industries. Overall, 13 of 21 industries reported higher sales in September, representing 77.4 percent of total manufacturing in the province. Sales in Ontario were 3.3 percent higher this September than in September 2015.
Conversely, sales were down 6.8 percent in New Brunswick, mainly reflecting lower sales of non-durable goods.
Inventories in the manufacturing sector rose 0.5 percent in September. Higher stocks in the transportation equipment, food, and chemical industries all contributed to the increase.
The inventory-to-sales ratio increased from 1.36 in August to 1.37 in September. The inventory-to-sales ratio measures the time, in months, that would be required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current level.
Unfilled orders declined for the third consecutive month, down 0.2 percent in September. The decrease came mostly from lower unfilled orders in the fabricated metal product, electrical equipment appliance and component, and computer and electronic industries.
These declines were partly offset by an increase in unfilled orders in the aerospace product and parts and machinery industries.
New orders rose 2.3 percent in September, as a result of gains in the transportation equipment and machinery industries.
