Bombardier employees work on an aircraft in Dorval, Que, in April. Transportation equipment sales dropped to $10.7-billion in August, with production of aerospace products and parts down 8.6 per cent.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
Manufacturing sales fell 1 per cent to $69.4-billion in August, as production declined in the aerospace and auto industries, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
The agency said manufacturing sales fell in 12 of the 21 subsectors it tracks, as the transportation equipment subsector dropped 5.7 per cent and the food subsector lost 1.9 per cent.
Alexandra Brown, North America economist at Capital Economics, said the results were “not as bad as feared.”
“The tentative manufacturing recovery that we’ve seen since June hasn’t completely stalled, with the weakness mostly reflecting idiosyncratic factors,” Ms. Brown wrote in a report.
“That said, the news that Stellantis is shifting production of its newest Jeep models to the U.S. highlights the challenges facing the sector, suggesting limited upside going forward.”
Stellantis shifts Jeep Compass production to Illinois from Brampton
The drop in August came as transportation equipment sales dropped to $10.7-billion with production of aerospace products and parts down 8.6 per cent, reversing a gain of 6.9 per cent in July which marked the highest level on record.
The subsector also saw motor vehicle parts sales drop 5.2 per cent and motor vehicles fall 3.3 per cent as Statistics Canada said the auto industry saw lower than typical seasonal sales of parts as well as a production slowdown at a major auto assembly plant in Ontario.
Partly offsetting the losses was a 3.6-per-cent increase to $5.8-billion in primary metal sales in August as exports of unwrought aluminum and aluminum alloys jumped 45.1 per cent in August.
On a constant dollar basis, manufacturing sales fell 1.5 per cent in August.
In a separate report, Statistics Canada said wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products and other hydrocarbons, and excluding oilseed and grain, fell 1.2 per cent to $85.4-billion in August.
Wholesale sales, excluding those items, in volume terms fell 1.3 per cent in August.
Wholesale sales for the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector fell 8.8 per cent to $14-billion in August, while the food, beverage and tobacco subsector dropped 3.8 per cent to $15.6-billion.