Economy · Canadian manufacturing
Canadian factory sales hold flat as sales volumes fall 1.5%
Petroleum prices lift the dollar value of sales, masking weakness in other manufacturing industries.
Canadian manufacturing sales were essentially unchanged at C$80.2 billion in September, while sales measured in constant dollars fell 1.5%, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
Sales declined in 11 of 21 manufacturing subsectors. Primary metals fell 9.5% and wood products dropped 7.0%, while petroleum and coal product sales rose 10.0%, helped by higher prices.
Excluding petroleum and coal products, the value of manufacturing sales fell 1.5%. The difference between flat current-dollar sales and falling constant-dollar sales shows why higher prices can support a headline sales total without an increase in sales volumes.
