A recent survey completed by StatsCan indicated a 3.1% decline in sales for the manufacturing industry in the month of December 2012. The total manufacturing sales in December was $48 billion. The chart below illustrates Canadian manufacturing sales since 2007 in current dollars.
The transportation equipment industry suffered the highest percentage decrease in sales compared to other manufacturing sectors. Sales fell by 9.1% in the transportation equipment sector for December, which represented the largest percentage decrease since February 2011. However, this decrease can be attributed to a 15.4% decline in motor vehicle assembly, which is expected given that assembly plants are normally closed for a portion of the month in December. Other sectors that experienced decline include chemical manufacturing, petroleum and coal products and the fabricated metal industry.
The total decline in Canadian manufacturing sales was concentrated within Ontario, which contributed to more than 2/3 of the total national decline. Ontario sales fell by 4.6% while Alberta faced a decline of 4.5%, representing a third consecutive monthly decrease for the province. Overall for 2012, the Canadian manufacturing industry as a whole had a 3.4% increase in total sales compared to 2011 sales numbers. However this increase is less than half the rate of growth in sales for 2011 and 2010, which was 7.8% and 8.9% respectively and can be accredited to a slowdown in growth in the manufacturing industry as a whole for 2012.
To stay competitive, manufacturers are encouraged to take advantage of Canadian business funding programs. In Ontario, there are numerous programs that fund research and development (SR&ED and IRAP), equipment purchases (CME Smart Prosperity Now), and export market development (Export Market Access).