Manufacturing not bottomed out

OTTAWA — Manufacturing sales fell to their lowest level in a decade, declining another 5.4 percent to $41.7 billion in January.

According to Stats Canada, motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts industries, particularly in Ontario, reported record decreases and were largely to blame for the decline. Excluding those products, manufacturing sales decreased a more moderate 1.2 percent compared with December.

The transportation equipment industry reported its largest monthly decline on record, falling 27.3 percent in January. Most of the decline was due to lower sales by motor vehicle (-46.3%) and motor vehicle parts manufacturers (-27.1%).

Both sectors were faced with severe market downturns, which resulted in extended closures and slowdowns at numerous plants during the month.

Primary metal sales fell 10.5 percent in January, following decreases of 13.9 percent in December and 19.1 percent in November. Manufacturers have seen prices decrease steadily since August 2008.

Some sectors had a slight increase in manufacturing sales in January, following the decreases reported by 20 of 21 industries in December. Petroleum and coal product manufacturers reported a small up tick of 7.2 percent — the first gain in seven months.

Inventory levels advance slightly:

Inventory levels rose 1.2 percent to $67.1 billion in January, pulled higher by a 2.8 percent increase in goods-in-process. Inventory levels have generally been increasing since March 2008.