By the numbers

Manufacturing sales slide ... On the heels of a three-month rally, manufacturing swallowed a 0.2-per-cent sales dip to $52.1 billion in August. Growth in the motor vehicles assembly and wood product industries counteracted losses recorded in the petroleum and coal product, motor vehicle parts and aerospace product and parts industries. Provincially, Ontario enjoyed a third-consecutive gain with a 1.1-per-cent sales uptick.