Statistics Canada has posted the monthly survey for manufacturing. Of note: Food manufacturers reported the greatest increase in the value of sales, up 3.5% compared with February. This was the largest increase in food sales since January 2008. Prior to the increase in March, food sales had been relatively flat over the preceding six months.
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Monthly Survey of Manufacturing - STATISTICS CANADA
March 2010
Manufacturing sales advanced 1.2% to $44.5 billion in March. Food and motor vehicle manufacturers were the largest contributors to the gains. Manufacturing sales have been trending upward since the low point reached in May 2009.
Constant dollar manufacturing sales increased 1.7% in March. Constant dollar sales have increased for seven consecutive months.
Sales gains were reported in 12 of 21 industries, representing two-thirds of total sales.
Manufacturing sales advance in March
All data in this release are seasonally adjusted and are expressed in current dollars unless otherwise specified.
Preliminary data are provided for the current reference month. Revised data, based on late responses, are updated for the three previous months.
Non-durable goods industries include food, beverage and tobacco products, textile mills, textile product mills, clothing, leather and allied products, paper, printing and related support activities, petroleum and coal products, chemicals, and plastics and rubber products.
Durable goods industries include wood products, non-metallic mineral products, primary metals, fabricated metal products, machinery, computer and electronic products, electrical equipment, appliances and components, transportation equipment, furniture and related products and miscellaneous manufacturing.
Production-based industries
For the aerospace industry and shipbuilding industries, the value of production is used instead of sales of goods manufactured. This value is calculated by adjusting monthly sales of goods manufactured by the monthly change in inventories of goods in process and finished products manufactured.
Unfilled orders are a stock of orders that will contribute to future sales assuming that the orders are not cancelled.
New orders are those received whether sold in the current month or not. New orders are measured as the sum of sales for the current month plus the change in unfilled orders from the previous month to the current month.
Durable goods as well as food manufacturers behind gains
Food manufacturers reported the greatest increase in the value of sales, up 3.5% compared with February. This was the largest increase in food sales since January 2008. Prior to the increase in March, food sales had been relatively flat over the preceding six months.
Besides food manufacturing, most of the remaining sales increases for March were attributable to the durable goods industries. Motor vehicle manufacturers reported a 3.6% increase in March, the sixth advance in seven months. However, the gain in motor vehicle manufacturing was largely offset by a 9.6% decrease in aerospace products and parts production.
Other durable good sales increases included non-metallic mineral products (+7.7%) and wood product manufacturing (+4.9%). Non-metallic mineral sales, in particular cement and concrete manufacturers, benefited from warm weather in March. Wood product sales have grown steadily over the past six months.
Every province reports gains
Provincial gains were reported across the country in March, ranging from increases of 0.1% in Quebec to 45.0% in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Sales in the Atlantic provinces rose 6.4% in March after a 9.5% drop the previous month. Sales in the region have increased in five of the past six months.
Manufacturers in Manitoba reported a 4.9% increase in sales compared with February, the strongest gain outside of the Atlantic provinces. Manitoba has not seen the same degree of recovery in manufacturing as the other provinces, with sales increasing only twice in the past six months.
Sales were also strong in British Columbia, up 3.8%. Paper products, transportation, and food manufacturers were behind much of the gains. Manufacturing sales in British Columbia have been on the upswing since July 2009.
In Quebec, sales edged up 0.1% compared with February. A 10.6% drop in the transportation equipment industry was offset by strong gains in food, beverage and tobacco, and chemical product manufacturing. Sales in Ontario advanced 0.7%, reflecting rising sales in motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts manufacturing.
Inventory levels decline
Inventory levels fell 1.1% in March compared with February. Inventories dropped steadily from February to September 2009, with the rate of decrease slowing over the past six months.
The decline in March was largely driven by petroleum and coal and aerospace product manufacturers, down 7.3% and 3.3% respectively. Raw materials and finished products were both behind the decrease in petroleum and coal product inventories.
Chemical manufacturing was the main offsetting movement, up 1.4%. About half of the increase was due to resin, synthetic rubber, and artificial and synthetic fibers and filaments manufacturing.
Inventory levels decrease in March
The inventory-to-sales ratio fell from 1.35 in February to 1.32 in March. This was the lowest level since September 2008.
The inventory-to-sales ratio continues to decline
Unfilled orders fall for the first time in four months
The backlog of unfilled orders declined for the first time in four months, down 0.4% to $53.0 billion.
Unfilled orders in the transportation equipment industry fell 0.6%, despite a 0.5% advance in the aerospace industry. Excluding aerospace products and parts, unfilled orders were down 1.0% compared with February.
The other notable decrease in unfilled orders took place in computer and electronic products, down 2.7%.
Unfilled orders decline slightly after three monthly gains
New orders decreased 0.7% in March to $44.3 billion. New orders fell in three key industries, namely computers and electronics, transportation equipment, and machinery. Despite the decrease in March, new orders have been trending upward since June 2009.
SOURCE: Statistics Canada
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