Report: Manufacturing sales down 0.7 percent in December, says Statistics Canada

Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales fell in December, weighed down by production slowdowns for retooling at some auto assembly plants in Ontario.

The agency says manufacturing sales fell 0.7 percent to $71.2 billion in December compared with a 1.5 percent increase in November.

Sales of motor vehicles fell 13.5 percent to $4.4 billion in the month, the lowest level since December 2022.

Sales of chemical products also dropped 3.1 percent to $5.4 billion, driven by a 19.7 percent decline in sales of pharmaceutical and medicine products.

Meanwhile, sales of aerospace products and parts rose 10.6 percent to a record $2.5 billion in December.

Total sales in constant dollars were down 0.1 percent in December.