breathe a sigh of relief, as the global chip shortage continues to hurt the country’s automotive industry.
This was reflected in the recent figures published by Statistics Canada, which showed a 3 per cent decline in manufacturing sales in September, to $58.5 billion. This slump was caused by a massive 35.6 per cent decrease in motor vehicles sales which fell to $1.9 billion, its lowest level since May 2020. Sales of motor vehicle parts in Canada also reached $1.8 billion in September, amounting to a 13.5 per cent drop from the previous month.
According to a senior Canada economist at a London-based economic research consultancy, the closing of auto plants once again had weighed heavily on the country’s manufacturing sales a couple of months ago. “While many factories reopened again this month, there is still a chance that overall manufacturing sales volumes will fall again this quarter, albeit more modestly than in the third,” Stephen Brown from Capital Economics wrote in a report.
Total manufacturing sales in constant dollars in September also fell by 4.2 per cent, suggesting a drop in the volume of goods sold that month. However, a separate report published by Statistics Canada showed a one per cent increase in wholesale sales in September to $71.3 billion. This was a result of a rise in domestic and overseas demand for potash, a potassium-rich salt that is primarily used in fertilizers. It led to a 20.9 per cent increase in sales in Canada’s agricultural products industry, which caused a 5.9 per cent rise in the miscellaneous goods subsector.
