Manufacturing sales down in April, the biggest since 2023 amid Trump’s tariff

Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales fell 2.8 per cent in April, the largest monthly drop since October 2023, as the tariff dispute with the United States hit the industry.

 

StatCan says manufacturing sales stand at their lowest level since January 2022 after a third straight monthly drop.

 

Drops in sales of petroleum and coal products (down 10.9 per cent), motor vehicles (down 8.3 per cent) and primary metals (down 4.4 per cent) drove the decline.

While the trade war kicked off in March, April marked the first full month of tariffs from the United States in many sectors — particularly targetting Canada’s steel, aluminum and automotive industries.

 

Roughly half of manufacturers surveyed by StatCan say they were being affected by tariffs in some form in April, as did 43 per cent of wholesalers.

 

A separate release from StatCan says wholesale sales fell 2.3 per cent in April with the motor vehicles, parts and accessories subsector leading the drop.

 

 

 

 

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Craig Lord, The Canadian Press

This article was first reported by The Canadian Press