Statistics Canada reported Tuesday that manufacturing sales in the country increased 1.5 percent to $49.5 billion in August, the highest sales level since March of this year.
Sales rose 4.4 percent to $4.7 billion in the motor vehicle assembly industry. The gain stemmed from larger than usual seasonal increases at some plants following regularly scheduled shutdowns in July. The increase was the 12th in 14 months. A 3.1 percent sales decrease to $3.7 billion in the primary metal industry partly offset the overall gain in total manufacturing. The decrease mostly reflected lower prices for primary metals in August.
Manufacturers' inventories edged down 0.1 percent to $65.2 billion in August, while inventories fell in 14 of 21 industries. The largest declines in inventories were in the aerospace product and parts (3.2 percent); computer and electronic products (4.1 percent); fabricated metal product (2.5 percent); and primary metal product (1.7 percent) industries.