Manufacturing sales fell in March, wholesale sales edged higher: StatCan

Manufacturing sales fell

Photo: The Canadian Press

Aluminum in a smelter is seen at the Alouette aluminum plant, Tuesday, May 21, 2019 in Sept-Iles, Que.  

Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales fell 1.4 per cent in March to $71.9 billion as sales fell in the primary metal and petroleum and coal product subsectors.

The agency says sales of primary metals fell 6.5 per cent to $5.9 billion in March, while sales of petroleum and coal products dropped 4.2 per cent to $7.8 billion.

Furniture and related product sales rose 11.9 per cent to $1.4 billion in March, led by gains in the household and institutional furniture and kitchen cabinet industry group.

In constant dollars, total manufacturing sales fell 1.1 per cent in March.

In a separate report, Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.2 per cent to $86.5 billion in March.

In volume terms, wholesale sales, excluding those items, fell 0.3 per cent in March.

Statistics Canada has started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade, but is excluding the data from its monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.