September manufacturing shipments rise 0.1%

OTTAWA — The value of shipments by Canadian manufacturers rose 0.1% in September to $37.413 billion, better than expected, according to Statistics Canada.

Economists expected shipments to remain unchanged from the previous month. The increase was led by increased car, truck, and auto parts shipments.

September’s increase came on the heels of a 7.7% jump in August as shipments rebounded with the end of the strikes at General Motors and Canadian auto parts manufacturers and their suppliers resumed production.

Excluding the auto industry, shipments fell 0.2% on the month to $30.248 billion from $30.314 billion in August. Shipments gained 2.9% from the year-earlier $36.363 billion, although they remain “well below” December 1997’s record $37.492 billion, the report said.

The increase was only the second in the past six months.

By sector, the biggest increases were 2% gains in both the automotive parts industry and the wood industry, followed by a 0.8% rise in motor vehicle shipments, the agency reported. Primary metal shipments fell 3%, however.

The value of inventories for the month climbed 0.8% to $50.301 billion from $49.912 billion. Unfilled orders rose 1.1% while new orders fell 2.4%.

A slowdown in shipments and the rise in inventories led to the inventory-to-shipments ratio to climb to 1.34 from August’s 1.33, Statscan said.


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