Although manufacturing in British Columbia and Alberta saw a slight dip in September, the two provinces remained the best performers in the country.
RBC’s monthly Canadian Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which groups B.C. and Alberta together, showed a drop from 56.2 to 55.0 between August and September for the region. Any level above 50.0 shows growth over the previous month.
B.C. and Alberta were also the only regions that saw growth in new export orders.
Across Canada, the PMI slipped to 53.5 in September after hitting a nine-month high in August. RBC said the latest figure is the lowest since June but still shows growth and overall solid improvement.
“While we did see a slight dip in the index after a nine-month high in August, Canada’s manufacturing sector continued to show strength,” said RBC senior vice-president Craig Wright.
“As we progress into the final months of 2014, we expect a further strengthening in the U.S economy will augment Canadian exports and set the stage for solid manufacturing business conditions overall.”
Canada-wide, September saw a slowing down of new order growth and output, and a flattening of new export work.
Quebec saw the slowest rate of growth, just a tick above the 50.0 benchmark at 50.8.
@EmmaHampelBIV
