Sales of manufactured food products jump in May
‘This looks almost like a glitch,’ analyst says of Sask. result that bucked a national trend
Saskatchewan manufacturers posted $1.165 billion (seasonally adjusted) in sales in May, up 3.3 per cent from $1.128 billion in April and 2.9 per cent over the $1.132 billion in sales in May 2015, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
But the manufactured goods that fared best were not the fabricated steel products, shortline farm implements and refined petroleum products normally associated with manufacturing in Saskatchewan, says Doug Elliott, publisher of Sask Trends Monitor, a monthly statistical newsletter.
WHAT
Manufacturing sales are divided into two main categories: nondurable goods, including food, beverage and tobacco products, textiles, paper, petroleum, chemical, plastics and rubber products, and durable goods, including wood, fabricated metal and non-metallic mineral products, machinery, electronics and electrical equipment, transportation equipment and furniture.
WHAT’S UP, WHAT’S DOWN
“Some manufacturers and processors had a good month,” Elliott said, noting that the $1.236 billion (unadjusted) value of shipments was up 1.5 per cent from May a year ago, the first year-over-year increase in 18 months.
“The increase was exclusively because of a 32 per cent jump in the value of manufactured food products sold during the month. Sales of other non-durable goods and sales of durable goods such as machinery and fabricated metal products are still below last year’s levels,’’ he added.
In fact, year-to-date manufacturing sales are off 3.6 per cent for the first five months of the year and employment in manufacturing is down by 2.3 per cent in the first half of the year.
WHAT IT MEANS
“This looks almost like a glitch,’’ Elliott said. Aside from food products, which represent about one-third of non-durable goods manufacturing, chemical and petroleum products and other non-durable goods, as well as machinery and metal products, were all down in May. “We’re still suffering (from low oil prices and the farm machinery slump). It’s just that we happened to have a good month in one sector.’’ Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales fell 1.0 per cent to $49.9 billion in May. The decline came as sales of motor vehicles and petroleum and coal products dropped. Constant dollar sales fell 2.1 per cent, indicating a lower volume of sales in May.