Manufacturing sales rise 1.5 percent in August on strength in metals and chemicals

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says total manufacturing sales rose 1.5 percent to $79.9 billion in August, helped by strength in the primary metal and chemical subsectors.

Sales in the primary metal subsector gained 14.0 percent to hit a record $7.6 billion in August, helped by higher sales volumes and prices, while the chemical subsector increased 4.4 percent to $6.2 billion.

Transportation equipment sales fell 2.6 percent to $12.0 billion.

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In constant dollars, total manufacturing sales were unchanged in August.

Across all manufacturing, sales reached $79.9 billion and, unadjusted, were 14.6 percent above a year earlier.

In a separate report, Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons as well as oilseed and grain, fell 1.6 percent to $91.6 billion in August.

In volume terms, wholesale sales, excluding the same categories, fell 1.8 percent.

Statistics Canada has started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade but is excluding the data from its monthly analysis until there is enough historical data for comparison.

Wood and paper products

Sales of Canadian wood product manufacturers rose 2.8 percent in August from July to a seasonally adjusted $3.10 billion, against a 1.5 percent rise in sales across all manufacturing, Statistics Canada said.

Without seasonal adjustment, they were 4.2 percent higher than in August 2025.

Statistics Canada reports the individual wood industries without seasonal adjustment, so they compare with August 2025: sawmill and wood preservation sales were 2.9 percent higher at $1.20 billion; veneer, plywood and engineered wood sales were 0.2 percent lower at $774 million; and sales of other wood products, such as millwork and pallets, were 9.0 percent higher at $1.11 billion.

By province, seasonally adjusted wood product sales rose 4.9 percent in Quebec to $963 million, fell 5.5 percent in British Columbia to $841 million and rose 12.7 percent in Ontario to $581 million.

Paper manufacturers' sales rose 1.0 percent to $2.57 billion and, unadjusted, were 7.1 percent above a year earlier.

Sales at pulp, paper and paperboard mills were 11.0 percent higher than in August 2025, unadjusted.

Unfilled orders at wood product manufacturers rose 13.0 percent to $774 million.

With files from The Canadian Press, BNN Bloomberg and The Globe and Mail