May 17, 2016 - 5:48 AM
OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales fell 0.9 per cent to $50.0 billion in March, due to lower sales of transportation equipment and primary metals.
It was the second consecutive monthly decline.
Economists had expected a drop of 1.8 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.
Statistics Canada says sales were down in 16 of 21 industries.
Transportation equipment sales fell 3.4 per cent to $10.8 billion in March, while primary metal sales fell 5.6 per cent to $3.5 billion.
In constant dollar terms, sales were up 0.1 per cent in March, suggesting that higher volumes of manufactured goods were sold.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2016