INDUSTRY PULSE: Inventories continue to build
OTTAWA, Ont. — Manufacturers’ inventories, which have been on a steady rise over the last two years, advanced another 0.6% to $66.2 billion in November, Statistics Canada reports.
Since December 2003 ($58.5 billion), inventories have grown by $7.7 billion (+13.1%) in value.
In November, sizeable gains in goods-in-process (+1.3%) and finished products (+0.6%) contributed to the overall rise in inventories. Inventories of raw materials also edged up by 0.3% to $28.7 billion, rounding out the three stages of fabrication.
The main contributors to the increase in inventories included the petroleum (+9.1%) and machinery (+2.2%) industries. Strong demand for copper, steel products, and other primary metals contributed to a 2.0% drop in inventories of primary metals, partly offsetting the overall rise in total inventories.
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