After taking it on the chin in April, the first full month of the pandemic lockdown, manufacturers were able to begin their course correction in May. The fact that it took only weeks for these companies to begin finding their sea-legs again is a good sign of the resilience of the overall economy.
According to the new StatsCan numbers, Saskatchewan manufacturers saw an increase in sales of six percent from March to April. That was less than the national number but still leaves us ahead of much of the rest of the country on a year-over-year basis.
Compared to May of 2019, sales here were down 22-percent and more than 30-percent nationally. Ontario fell back closer to 40-percent which helps put our numbers into perspective.
Just a few players can have a big impact on our performance. Even modest changes at the Co-op Refinery and the Evraz Steel mill can move our numbers. May was a case in point where Regina’s figures were up by more than 30-percent for the month, the strongest improvement in all of Canada.
Source: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200715/dq200715a-eng.htm?HPA=1
