Canadian manufacturing sales fell 1.3 per cent on a monthly basis in April, dragged lower by a third straight month of declining sales of petroleum and coal products and a drop in transportation equipment shipments.  Sales were down in 10 of 21 manufacturing sub-sectors, representing about half of total manufacturing sales.  On a year-over-year basis, Canadian manufacturing sales were up 3.6 per cent over April 2017.

In BC,  manufacturing sales were down 0.1 per cent on a monthly basis but were up 7.6 per cent year-over-year. A strong forestry sector, particularly paper manufacturing, continues to be a significant driver of BC's manufacturing sales. That strength helped offset some weakness in sectors like machinery and equipment manufacturing and coal products.

Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.