Manufacturing Sales Decline

Manufacturing sales fell two per cent to $70.4 billion in August, the fourth consecutive monthly decline, says Statistics Canada. There were lower sales in 17 of 21 industries, led by the paper which was down -5.7 per cent and wood product, down -4.3 per cent industries. Sales in constant dollars decreased 1.7 per cent in August, indicating lower volume of goods sold. Manufacturing sales declined in seven provinces in August, led by Quebec and followed by Alberta and New Brunswick. Meanwhile, sales in Manitoba increased the most. In Quebec, manufacturing sales were down 5.5 per cent to $16.7 billion in August, the second consecutive monthly decrease. Total inventory levels increased 1.3 per cent to $119.9 billion in August, on higher inventories in 16 of 21 industries. The inventory-to-sales ratio increased from 1.65 in July to 1.7 in August. This ratio measures the time, in months, that would be required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current level.