indicatorThe Twenty-Four

Manufacturing moving in wrong direction

A $230.2 billion (-13.4%) drop in petroleum refinery sales was the largest contributor to the monthly decrease in Alberta

By Rob Roach, ATB Economics 15 November 2021 1 min read

After reaching a record high in May, seasonally adjusted manufacturing sales in Alberta fell for the fourth consecutive month in September.

Monthly sales went from $7.1 billion in August to $6.9 billion in September for a decline of 2.9%.

National manufacturing sales also fell, going from $60.3 billion in August to $58.5 billion in September for a drop of 3.0%.

Nationally, most of the decline is attributable to lower sales of motor vehicles due to the global shortage of semiconductors, but this was not a factor in Alberta where a $230.2 million (-13.4%) drop in petroleum refinery sales was the largest contributor to the monthly decrease.

Sales in Alberta were also down in five other sub-sectors: machinery (-10.2%), wood products (-7.3%), paper products (-6.1%), furniture (-2.4%) and primary metals (-1.2%).

Food manufacturing sales were up the most in absolute terms (+$79.2 billion) while plastics were up the most in percentage terms (+10.3%).

Answer to the previous trivia question: Alberta’s real GDP was $319.7 billion in 2020 compared to $265.8 billion for BC.

Today’s trivia question: What is the largest factory in the world by floor area?

Manufacturing sales in Alberta fell for the fourth consecutive month in September

Manufacturing sales in Alberta fell for the fourth consecutive month in September


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