MNI DATA IMPACT: Autos Weigh on Canadian Feb Mfg Sales>

By Yali N'Diaye

     OTTAWA (MNI) - The following are the key points from the February 

data on the Canadian manufacturing sales released Tuesday by Statistics 

Canada: 

     - Sales decreased 0.2% in February, not as much as the 0.5% drop 

expected by analysts in a MNI survey. However, estimates for the 

previous two months were revised down: to +0.8% from +1.0% for January 

and to -1.5% from -1.1% in December. Real sales fell 0.5% after 

increasing 1.5% in January. 

     - Declines were widespread across 15 of 21 industries, representing 

65.9% of manufacturing trade, led by a 1.4% contraction in durable goods 

industries. In particular, auto sales fell 4.4% on the month. Excluding 

motor vehicles, sales actually rose 0.2%. Regionally, weakness was also 

widespread across six provinces. 

     - Instead, sales rose 1.2% in non-durable industries, led by a 7.1% 

gain in petroleum and coal, owing to both higher prices and volumes as 

"several refineries ramped up production". Sales excluding petroleum and 

coal were down 0.9% on the month after rising 0.7% in January. 

     - Inventories increased a further 0.5%, bringing the 

inventory-to-sales ratio to 1.51, the highest level since June 2009. 

Forward looking indicators were mixed: unfilled orders fell 0.4% while 

new orders were up 1.5%. 

     - The capacity utilization rate fell 0.5 percentage points to 

78.2%, with declines both in non-durable and durable industries. 

--MNI Ottawa Bureau; email: yali.ndiaye@marketnews.com 

[TOPICS: M$C$$$,MACDS$]