Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales down 3.6% in February

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales fell 3.6 per cent to $71.5 billion in February, as sales of petroleum and coal products helped lead the drop.

The agency says the decline followed a revised 4.5 per cent increase in January. The initial reading for the first month of the year had been for a gain of 4.1 per cent.

The drop in February came as 12 of the 21 industries tracked saw moves lower.

Sales of petroleum and coal products fell 14.9 per cent to $8.8 billion in February as sales volumes dropped 8.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, sales of motor vehicles fell 12.3 per cent to $4.2 billion in February and primary metals declined 4.2 per cent to $5.6 billion. Sales in the machinery industry rose 3.0 per cent to $4.6 billion.

In constant dollars, Statistics Canada says overall manufacturing sales decreased 2.4 per cent in February.