OTTAWA — Manufacturing sales were unchanged in September at $70.4 billion, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.
The federal agency said gains in sales of durable goods including aerospace product and parts, primary metal and machinery were offset by a drop in non-durable goods including petroleum and coal products and food.
The country saw a 11.1 per cent gain in the month for aerospace product and parts to $1.7 billion, which helped sales of durable goods rise 1.0 per cent to $34.1 billion.
Sales of primary metals also increased 2.9 per cent to $5.6 billion in September, while the machinery sector added 3.6 per cent at $4.3 billion.
Meanwhile, sales of non-durable goods fell 0.9 per cent to $36.3 billion in September, as sales of petroleum and coal products fell 2.4 per cent to $9.5 billion and food industry sales dropped 1.8 per cent to $11.9 billion.
Sales in constant dollars edged down 0.2 per cent in September.
"Manufacturing sales volumes edged down in September and, with the business surveys continuing to weaken and inventory levels now looking unusually high, they are likely to fall further," said Stephen Brown, senior Canada economist at Capital Economics.
"We expect weaker manufacturing production to contribute to a moderate recession in the first half of 2023."
In a separate report, Statistics Canada said Tuesday that wholesale sales rose 0.1 per cent to $81.8 billion, as sales rose in five of seven subsectors.
Wholesale sales of personal and household goods rose 4.3 per cent to $11.2 billion, the largest monthly increase since June 2020, boosted by pharmaceuticals and pharmacy supplies wholesalers which gained 5.7 per cent to $6.2 billion.
Meanwhile, the food, beverage and tobacco subsector climbed 1.9 per cent to $14.9 billion as the food industry gained 2.3 per cent at $13.3 billion.
The miscellaneous subsector fell 5.8 per cent to $12.3 billion in September, the largest drop since April 2020.
Overall wholesale sales fell 0.2 per cent in constant dollars in September.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2022.
The Canadian Press
