B.C. manufacturing sales bucked the national trend in August by falling 0.1%, according to Statistics Canada data released Friday.
Sales fell to $2.975 billion, down from $2.979 in July, compared with a 2% increase nationally to $45.07 billion from $44.19 billion.
Nationally, the main contributors to the increase were in the motor vehicle, petroleum and coal production sectors with higher sales volumes responsible for most of the gain.
Sales increases were seen in 15 of 21 industries representing 81.8% of total manufacturing sales.
Provincially, the biggest increases were in Saskatchewan (+6.1%), Ontario (+2.9%), Quebec (+2.3%), Nova Scotia (+2.1%) and Alberta (+2%).
B.C. was the largest province to report a decline, although for the 12-month period ending August 31, B.C. has seen one of the largest sales increases, rising 8.4%.
Provinces with the largest increases over the past year include Alberta (+13.2%), Ontario (+12.7%), Nova Scotia (+12.3%), and Quebec (8.9%).