One major sector of the Canadian economy fell backwards in October, according to figures released Friday by Statistics Canada.
The agency said manufacturing sales dipped 0.4% in October to $53.5 billion following two consecutive monthly increases as the auto sector weighed on the result.
After factoring for inflation, sales decreased 1.5% in October, reflecting a lower volume of goods sold.
The nation's number crunchers went on to say sales fell in eight of 21 industries, with sales of motor vehicles and other transportation equipment accounting for most of the month's decline. Factoring out those two industries, manufacturing sales actually progressed 0.5%.
Motor vehicle industry sales slumped by 6.7% to $4.6 billion for a second consecutive monthly decrease.
The drop was partly due to decreased production after shutdowns of some assembly plants in October. Sales volume in the industry fell by 7.6% for the month. A month-long strike at the GM CAMI auto plant in Ontario ended in the middle of the month.
StatsCan also said sales were also down in the chemical and machinery industries in October, while increases were seen for the petroleum and coal, and wood product industries.
