OTTAWA — Manufacturing sales fell another 6 percent to $38.4 billion in May, the lowest level since November 1998, reports Stats Canada.

Manufacturing leveled off between February and April, after falling by 18.7 percent between October 2008 and January 2009.

Plant shutdowns in the motor vehicle and primary metal industries, along with continued volatility in the aerospace industry, accounted for most of the decline in May. (Excluding transportation equipment total Canadian manufacturing sales only dropped decreased 2 percent).

Constant dollar manufacturing sales fell 5.8 percent in May, indicating that lower volumes rather than price changes were behind the decrease.

Sales in 17 of 21 manufacturing industries decreased in May, accounting for about three-quarters of total sales.

Not surprisingly, the transportation equipment industry led the declines, falling 25.7 percent compared with April. Motor vehicle manufacturing sales dropped 25.4 percent on the back of several plant shutdowns while reflectively, vehicle parts manufacturing fell 22.2 percent.

Production in the aerospace industry decreased by $781 million and primary metal manufacturers reported a 9 percent drop.

Miscellaneous manufacturers (-13.7%), machinery manufacturers (-6.0%), fabricated metal products (-3.5%), and food (-2.9%) were other industries with large sales decreases during May.

Weakness in Mid-Canada offset by Atlantic:

Sales in Ontario decreased by 7.8 percent in May, again, largely the result of steep declines in motor vehicles and parts (-23.1%).
Sales in Quebec fell 9.1 percent, after a slight 4.2 percent gain in April. A 55 percent drop in aerospace products and parts production was largely responsible.

The Atlantic provinces as a whole, though, reported a 6.7 percent increase in sales on the back of higher volumes and prices in the petroleum and coal products industry.

Meanwhile, manufacturers reported a 2.1 percent decline in inventories compared with April — the fourth consecutive monthly decline — while unfilled orders continue to fall as well.

The backlog of unfilled orders fell 6.9 percent in May to $58.7 billion, extending the 6.2 percent decline posted in April.

Unfilled orders for the most part steadily increased between 2005 and 2008. However, recent months have reversed this trend, with unfilled orders falling in five of the previous six months.