Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales up 0.5% in February
The overall increase came despite rail blockades in different parts of the country and the impact of COVID-19
OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales increased 0.5% to $56.2 billion in February, boosted by higher sales in the transportation equipment industry.
The overall increase came despite rail blockades in different parts of the country and the impact of COVID-19 on global supply chains.
The agency says the impact of the blockades, along with COVID-19 disruptions in February reduced manufacturing sales by an estimated $465 million or 0.8%.
Without the disruptions, total manufacturing sales would have risen by an estimated 1.3% in February compared with January, it says.
Sales were up in 11 of 21 industries of the industries tracked, representing 58.4% of total Canadian manufacturing.
In constant dollar terms, sales were up 0.8%, indicating that a higher volume of products was sold in February.