B.C.’s manufacturing sales increased by 1.6% to $3.4 billion in May, according to Statistics Canada data released this morning.
Nationwide, manufacturing sales edged upward by 0.7% to $48.6 billion. The biggest gain was found in the chemical industry, which saw a 5.1% increase to $3.98 billion. This is due in part to higher-than-average fertilizer sales, reflecting delayed spring planting due to colder weather this year compared with last year.
Primary metals sales increased 4% to $3.5 billion, after dropping 9.1% in April.
Sales in the wood products industry dropped 4.8% to $2.1 billion, after seven months of consecutive increases.
Year-over-year, manufacturing sales advanced by 2.9% in B.C., while sales dipped by 3.2% Canadawide.
The provinces with the biggest drops in May 2013 compared with May 2012 were:
- Newfoundland and Labrador (down 22.8%);
- Prince Edward Island (down 10.7%); and
- Quebec (down 10.2%).
The greatest year-over-year provincial gain was in Saskatchewan, which saw an increase of 16.7% to $1.30 billion.
