After an extended run as one of the best performers in the provincial economy, our manufacturers are navigating some choppy waters these days.
The month of September was especially challenging for these businesses with total revenues declining $65 million compared to August. That was pretty much the largest percentage drop among the provinces at 4.6 percent for the month. And it lowered our annual performance by more than 11-percent. That is the biggest reduction among all the provinces.
This is part of a bigger trend that has gripped the sector which posted a decline nationally too, although not quite as deep as the reduction we saw here. You can attribute this to uncertainty in the marketplace caused by things such as tariffs and market interruptions.
The thing that hits us the hardest is the problems farmers have been facing. Market closures and weather that made seeding impossible in parts of the US and harvest a nightmare on this side of the border meant farmers have been restraining their spending on farm machinery, a key component of our manufacturing marketplace.
