According to Statistics Canada, manufacturing sales edged down 0.2 percent to $52.1 billion in August, following three consecutive monthly advances.
Motor vehicle parts sales declined 4.4 percent to $2.5 billion. Normally, parts manufacturers report large gains in August as motor vehicle assembly plants ramp up production following regular shutdowns every July. This year, the sales gains reported by parts manufacturers were smaller than usual, leading to the decrease in seasonally adjusted sales for the industry.
In the motor vehicle assembly industry, sales rose 6.7 percent to $5.7 billion following maintenance shutdowns in July. Some manufacturers reported selling more higher-end vehicles in August. The sales value in August was the highest recorded for the industry since March 2007.
Inventories rose 0.5 percent in August to $73.4 billion. Inventories were up in 17 of 21 industries, led by gains in the aerospace product and parts (+1.5 percent), food (+1.2 percent), machinery (+1.2 percent) and computer and electronic product (+2.9 percent) industries.
The inventory-to-sales ratio rose from 1.40 in July to 1.41 in August. The inventory-to-sales ratio measures the time, in months, that would be required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current level.
Unfilled orders edged up 0.2 percent to $96.9 billion in August. Over half of the gain stemmed from a 0.3 percent increase in the aerospace product and parts industry. Unfilled orders in the aerospace industry reached $53.1 billion in August. Unfilled orders also rose in the railroad rolling stock and the fabricated metal product industries.
New orders were down 5.6 percent as a result of declines in the aerospace product and parts industry.