Shipments from Canadian factories in August dropped slightly from their highest level in 2006, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.
Canadian manufacturers shipped $49.8 billion worth of goods, a drop of 0.3 percent from July. If price declines were taken into account, however, the overall volume of shipments increased 0.5 percent to $45.0 billion.
Shipments decreased in 12 of 21 manufacturing industries in August.
Durable goods industry shipments feel by 1.0 percent to $26.4 billion. Durable goods include wood products, non-metallic mineral products, primary metals, and computer and electronic products. The transportation sector dropped for a second month.
Non-durable goods industries increased by 0.6 percent to $23.4 billion due to increases in paper chemicals and food manufacturing. Non-durable goods include food, beverage and tobacco products.
Food manufacturing increased 1.2 percent to $5.7 billion, making it the second largest industrial sector after transportation. The increase was due in part to increased production in seafood on the East Coast.
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Canadian Shipments and Volume |
Chemicals increased 1.8 percent to $4.5 billion, with the largest increase in the Alberta territory. Shipments of paper products jumped 4.4 percent to $2.7 billion, the highest level in 2006.
Manufacturing employment dropped by 11,300 in August, according to the Labor Force Survey. The total manufacturing job loss for 2006 in Canada stands at 87,000, with the food and motor vehicle and parts manufacturing sectors shedding the most jobs this year.