Paul Martin commentary
Higher oil prices have given Saskatchewan’s manufacturing numbers a significant boost.
This segment of the economy had been on a strong run for most of this decade but began to experience a slow down late last year, a trend that extended into the first couple months of this year.
But new numbers from StatsCanada show a sharp reversal in March with overall revenues for the province’s manufacturers rising 21-percent from February to March pushing monthly aggregate sales for the sector past $2 billion. That was the strongest improvement in the nation.
That figure was also 18-percent higher than at the same time a year ago. The federal agency says total national revenue numbers went up in March as well, largely on the strength of higher oil prices rather than an increase in unit sales.
That trend was clear in Saskatchewan too. Sales for manufacturers based in Regina – which includes in Co-op Refinery – were up 35-percent for the month to almost $850 million while Saskatoon saw almost no change, sitting at less than half of Regina’s sales volume.
