Canada’s manufacturing sales in May declined 2% to $71.6 billion as automotive production
slowed during the month, according to data from Statistics Canada.
The federal agency said May’s decline was the first drop in manufacturing sales in seven
months, with sales falling in 11 of 21 industries.
Transportation equipment sales were down 15.7% during May at $8.5 billion as sales in the
automotive industry dropped 32% to $3.3 billion due to retooling at assembly plants and
ongoing shortages of semiconductors.
Primary metal sales fell 4.1% to $6.3 billion, but still posted the second highest sales on record.
High prices pushed sales in the petroleum and coal industry up 5.4% to $10.9 billion in May, a
new record.
In constant dollar terms, overall manufacturing sales in Canada fell 3.9% in May, indicating a
lower overall volume.
The reading for manufacturing sales comes after Statistics Canada said that its preliminary
estimates for gross domestic product (GDP) showed a contraction of 0.7% in May.