Statistics Canada reports manufacturing sales up 1.7 percent to $72.3B in April

Canadian manufacturing sales rose 1.7 percent to $72.3 billion in April, helped by gains in the petroleum and coal product, motor vehicle, and primary metal sectors, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

The gain came as overall sales in constant dollars rose 0.9 percent in April, indicating that both prices and volume sold contributed to increase for the month.

Stephen Brown, senior Canada economist at Capital Economics, said the increase means manufacturing sales volumes have now risen above their pre-pandemic peak.

“While the recovery in the motor vehicle sector appears to have stalled in May, the strong rise in unfilled orders in April and the improvement in the S&P Manufacturing PMI in May nevertheless bode well for further gains in output,” Brown wrote in a report.

“Further ahead, while rapidly rising interest rates may hit demand to some extent, the elevated level of commodity prices suggests that Canada’s manufacturing sector should hold up better than elsewhere,” Brown wrote.

Statistics Canada said Tuesday higher prices helped sales of petroleum and coal products gain 3.7 percent to reach a new record high at $10.1 billion in April.

Meanwhile, sales of motor vehicles rose 8.2 percent to $4.5 billion in April, while primary metal sales gained 4.1 percent at $6.2 billion. Aerospace products and parts added 11.2 percent at $1.6 billion.

Wood product sales fell six percent to $4.5 billion as prices moved lower. Wood product sales in constant dollars lost 1.3 percent.

Sales of paper products dropped 7.9 percent to $2.5 billion in April.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2022.