Factory sales in this country recovered in a big way in May, according to figures released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.
The agency says manufacturing sales rose 10.7% to $40.2 billion in May from a month earlier as many factories resumed production after full or partial shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many manufacturers in this country resumed operations following full or partial shutdowns related to COVID-19 during the previous month. Nevertheless, total manufacturing sales in May were 28.4% below their pre-pandemic level in February.
Sales were up in 18 of 21 industries, led by motor vehicle, motor vehicle parts and petroleum and coal products industries.
Economists on average expected an increase of 9.5% for May.
In volumes terms, manufacturing sales rose 8.8%, indicating a higher volume of products sold in May.
