After the flat sales in August, the manufacturing sales jumped in September to their highest since June 2012. The sales in the motor vehicle assembly industry leapt 5.4 percent and motor vehicle parts jumped 2.5 percent and food sales climbed 2.6 percent. Mainly noticeable in the auto and food industries, this encourages a sign that the hard-hit sector may be rebounding and anticipates quick economic growth.

The manufacturing sales grew 0.6 percent in September, slightly above the 0.5 percent gain forecast by market operators, to $49.9 billion.  In volume terms (most important for gross domestic product growth), sales rose 1 percent in September.

“This is the first gain in the volume of shipments since the first quarter of 2012 … it might feed sentiment that perhaps Canadian manufacturing is finally turning the corner,’ said Scotia Capital economists Derek Holt and Dov Zigler.

Though these numbers show increasing growth, it is clear that the weak U.S. market and strong Canadian dollar have prevented manufacturing from returning to its pre-recession peak.

The September and quarterly GDP figures will be released on November 29, and the latest figures suggest a healthy growth rate in the month of September and annualized third-quarter growth of at least 2 percent, above the Bank of Canada’s latest projection of 1.8 percent.

Consequently, encouraging signs from the United States show that the economy has weathered the government shutdown which may actually end up being an upside surprise for the Canadian economy. This is a result of exports become an increasingly important part of the recovery.

Article and Picture:

Egan, Louise. “September Factory Sales Raise Hopes of a Comeback.” – BNN News. N.p., 15 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.bnn.ca/News/2013/11/15/September-factory-sales-raise-hopes-of-a-comeback.aspx>.