OTTAWA — Current dollar manufacturing sales continued their broadly-based advance in July, rising 2.7 percent to $54.1 billion, a fourth consecutive monthly increase, reports Stats Canada.

Manufacturers last reported four consecutive months of growth in the first half of 2002.

Overall, 17 out of the 21 manufacturing industries increased compared with June, accounting for over 97 percent of total sales.
Most of the sales gains in July were due to higher volumes, in contrast to the price-induced increases observed in recent months.

Primary metal sales were the principal force behind the manufacturing sales advance in July, thanks to international sales, posting their strongest monthly increase since September 2003. Sales rose 10.1 percent to $5.5 billion in July, following a 7.7 percent boost in June.

The transportation equipment industry continued to recover with a 2.3 percent gain. Motor vehicle manufacturers’ sales increased 3.1 percent to $4.3 billion, and motor vehicle part sales were up 2 percent.

However, in the motor vehicle industry, sales remained well below the $5.0 billion monthly average in 2007.

Strengthening in Central Canada Prairies:

There was some weakness on the far East and West Coasts in July, but improvements in the middle of the country. Manitoba posted the largest percentage gain amongst the provinces, increasing by 6.2 percent on the back of machinery manufacturers, which reported a notable 18.8 percent sales gain.

Ontario manufacturers reported their sixth increase in seven months as 15 of 21 industries were up. Primary metal products sales advanced a record 19.6 percent in July, as a number of iron and steel plants maintained or increased production during a month that is more frequently known for summer slowdowns.

B.C. was the only province to report back-to-back monthly sales declines as sales dipped 1.2 percent on weakness in the wood industry and a drop by fabricated metal product manufacturers.
Inventories, Unfilled Orders Stable Inventory levels stabilized edging up 0.2 percent to $67.2 billion.

As a result of the strong increase in sales, the inventory-to-sales ratio dropped to 1.2 percent, the lowest level since January 1995.