Alberta’s manufacturing sales in April stood mostly unchanged after a modest gain in March.

According to new Statistics Canada data, the value of seasonally-adjusted manufacturing shipments in Alberta eased by $129 million (-1.4%) in April after staying roughly unchanged in the first quarter of this year.

The monthly decline was largely driven by lower food manufacturing revenues, which dropped by 3.8% from the historical peak reached in March. The trend, however, for food manufacturing has been solid, with sales up 25% over the last 24 months of data.

Meanwhile, despite continually easing industrial prices, the revenues of both refined petroleum products and chemical shipments rose 1.7% in the month. Wood products continue to weigh on shipment values, falling for the third straight month.

April 2023 was the first time since January 2021 that Alberta’s factory revenues declined on a year-over-year basis (-5.5%), but this was partly due to the fact that sales jumped to a record high last April. It also reflects the impact of lower prices in a variety of categories, such as wood products, chemicals and refined petroleum products.

On a year-to-date basis, the value of manufacturing shipments was up by $1.2 billion (+3.6%) in Alberta and $10.5 billion (+3.9%) nationally relative to the first four months of 2022. Most of this increase is estimated to be from higher volumes as national industrial prices were unchanged during the same timeframe.

The manufacturing sector has remained fairly resilient so far this year with both revenues holding steady and employment picking up steam. However, we expect shipments to shift into lower gear in the coming months due to lower prices and external growth headwinds.

Answer to the previous trivia question: Held on June 19, Juneteenth is an annual commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States after the Civil War. It became a U.S. federal holiday in 2021.

Today’s trivia question: Which hemisphere’s pole is tilted toward the sun on the June solstice (which takes place on June 21 this year)?