The manufacturing sector is showing signs of strength, according to the Conference Board of Canada’s latest report.
According to the Conference Board, the leading indicator of industry profitability has been moving sideways over the past year, recording small declines last fall and small gains this year. Nonetheless, there are general signs of improvement in the economic indicators for both Canada and the United States.
In particular, the manufacturing sector is showing signs of strength. Given the good news from the manufacturing sector on both side of the border, it is not surprising that the profitability outlook for many manufacturing industries improved in April. Electrical equipment, furniture, plastic and rubber products, and food and beverage manufacturing posted the strongest gains.
Still, despite the recent improvement in manufacturing, all six of the industries that recorded a decline in their profitability index this month were from the manufacturing sector. The decliners included paper products and clothing and textiles manufacturing. Also, after several months of improvement, the profitability outlook for both the machinery and the motor vehicle manufacturing industries deteriorated in April.
