Factory sales rise 1.5% to $79.9B on metals, chemicals

Canadian manufacturing sales rose 1.5 per cent in August to $79.9 billion, Statistics Canada said Oct. 15, led by record sales of primary metals and a rebound in chemicals.

The increase followed a 0.3 per cent drop in July, according to the federal agency’s Monthly Survey of Manufacturing. Sales were up 14.2 per cent from August 2025. Sales rose in 12 of 21 subsectors.

The gain came almost entirely from higher prices, not more output. Statistics Canada said sales in constant dollars were unchanged from July, while the Industrial Product Price Index rose 1.3 per cent. In plain terms, factories sold the same volume of goods for more money.

Primary metal manufacturers drove the month. Sales jumped 14.0 per cent to a record $7.6 billion, mostly in non-ferrous metals other than aluminum. Even after stripping out price changes, primary metal sales rose 9.1 per cent, and they were up 27.8 per cent from a year earlier.

Chemical makers reported a 4.4 per cent increase to $6.2 billion, recovering from a 4.4 per cent drop in July. Statistics Canada said basic chemicals led the gain and that it was mainly price-driven, with constant-dollar sales up only 0.4 per cent.

Transportation equipment moved the other way. Sales fell 2.6 per cent to $12.0 billion, the second monthly decline in a row. Motor vehicle sales dropped 4.0 per cent and motor vehicle parts fell 4.2 per cent. Aerospace production slid 4.8 per cent to its lowest level since February, and Statistics Canada said exports of aircraft and parts fell 18.3 per cent.

The provincial picture was lopsided. Sales rose in six provinces, but two stood out. Quebec’s factories posted a 4.0 per cent increase to a record $21.0 billion, with primary metal sales there up 20.1 per cent to $4.0 billion. Newfoundland and Labrador’s sales surged 58.5 per cent to $692 million, the highest since May 2019, after non-durable goods rose 82.6 per cent. Both provinces are heavily tied to resource processing, which helps explain why a metals-and-chemicals month showed up so strongly in their numbers.

Beyond sales, the report offered a few signs of steadier footing. Inventories edged up 0.2 per cent to $127.7 billion, continuing a climb that began in January. The inventory-to-sales ratio eased to 1.60 from 1.62 in July. Unfilled orders were unchanged at $134.2 billion, with fabricated metal products up 4.3 per cent and aerospace down 1.3 per cent. Capacity utilization rose to 81.9 per cent from 80.7 per cent.

The report matters for context. Our earlier coverage showed that Canada’s economy was flat in July as factories and retail slipped, and that factory prices were climbing as markets weighed the chance of a rate hike. August’s headline gain fits that pattern: higher dollar sales, flat real activity. A 1.5 per cent headline reflects higher prices, not a jump in production. That is our reading of Statistics Canada’s figures, not a conclusion the agency drew.

The split inside the data also bears on workers. Statistics Canada’s figures show strength in metals and chemicals and weakness in autos and aerospace. Our report on why Canada lost 68,000 jobs and who was hit hardest describes a labour market already under strain, and autos and aerospace are large industrial employers. The manufacturing report does not break out jobs, so it cannot say how employment fared in August. Auto demand is also shifting, as our look at zero-emission vehicles reaching 13 per cent of new vehicle sales shows.

Statistics Canada is the only source for these figures, and no independent coverage of the release was found at publication. The agency’s advance estimate for September manufacturing sales is due Oct. 23, and the next full report is scheduled for Nov. 13.

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Via Statistics Canada, The Daily.