OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 0.5 per cent to $60.3 billion in August, helped by gains in the petroleum and coal sector and higher chemical sales.
The overall increase followed a decline of 1.2 per cent in July.
The increase came as petroleum and coal product sales climbed 7.3 per cent to $6.6 billion in August to reach their highest level since May 2019.
Chemical sales rose 6.3 per cent to a record high of $5.4 billion.
Meanwhile, the ongoing shortage of semiconductor chips hurt the motor vehicle sector which saw sales fall 8.7 per cent to $3.0 billion in August and wood product sales dropped 17.1 per cent to $3.3 billion mostly due to lower softwood lumber prices.
Overall manufacturing sales in constant dollar terms rose 0.6 per cent in August, indicating a higher sales volume.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2021.