Energy drives April factory sales gain

Big gains at petroleum-products companies helped drive April factory sales up two per cent from March.(CBC)

Booming coal and petroleum-products companies sold more than $7 billion worth of products in April, a new monthly high, Statistics Canada said Friday.

That was the main factor in the two-per-cent rise in manufacturers' factory sales in April. The dollar volume was $49.8 billion in April, compared with $48.8 billion in March.

But even without petroleum, manufacturers had a good month, reporting a one-per-cent increase. Moreover, 17 of 21 manufacturing industries reported gains.

Chemical products and machinery also had a good April, Statistics Canada said.

Vehicle sales were up 1.8 per cent to $4.1 billion, reversing a 5.9-per-cent drop in March when a strike at a U.S. parts supplier disrupted production. Industry sales are "volatile," the agency said, and "have been on a downward trend for a year and a half."

With the strength in energy, Alberta's factory sales were up 4.3 per cent to $5.6 billion. Ontario, which accounts for 46 per cent of the national total, reported a 1.4-per-cent gain. Seven provinces reported higher manufacturer sales, with drops in Prince Edward Island, Manitoba and British Columbia.

Productivity down in Q1

The labour productivity of Canadian businesses fell in the first quarter of 2008, the second quarterly drop in a row. However, the decline was less than in the last quarter of 2007, Statistics Canada said.

Labour productivity — the change in real gross domestic product per hour worked — fell 0.3 per cent in the first quarter, after a revised 0.7 per cent drop in the final quarter of 2007.

Gross domestic product fell in the first quarter, while the total number of hours was almost unchanged, as more people were employed but that "was completely offset by a drop in average hours worked," the agency said.

Productivity increases when the production of goods and services grows faster than the volume of work needed to make those goods and services.

Bad weather, reduced working hours and drops in manufacturing — especially vehicles —Statistics Canada said.

Canadian labour productivity has grown much more slowly than the U.S. figure. In 2007, Canada reported a 0.6-per-cent gain, compared with a 1.9-per-cent jump in the U.S.

Between 1981 and 2007, Canada posted an average 1.4-per-cent annual rise, and the U.S. 2.1 per cent.

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Trade surplus contracts in April

Canada’s trade surplus grew again in March