Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales gain 1.1 per cent in May

OTTAWA – Canadian manufacturing sales came in better than expected for May, climbing 1.1 per cent to $54.6 billion.

Statistics Canada says it was the third consecutive month to see an increase as gains were led by the transportation equipment and chemical manufacturing industries.

Economists had expected a gain of 0.8 per cent for the month, according to Thomson Reuters.

However, the better-than-expected increase for May came as Statistics Canada revised its figure for April to show an increase of 0.4 per cent compared with its initial reading of 1.1 per cent.

Sales in May were up in 16 of 21 industries, representing 71 per cent of the manufacturing sector.

The transportation equipment industry saw sales rise 4.2 per cent to $11.5 billion boosted by the motor vehicle and the motor vehicle parts industries. Chemical manufacturing sales climbed 2.4 per cent to $4.4 billion.

In constant dollars, overall sales were up 1.1 per cent, indicating that higher volumes of manufactured goods were sold in May.