We’re seeing something of a slowdown in the manufacturing sector in Saskatchewan.
Actually, this has been a bit of trend nationally but there was a spark of activity in August, according to the latest industry revenue numbers.
Alberta and Manitoba were the growth leaders as their revenue line turned upward. But here in Saskatchewan the trend line continued its downward trek for the third consecutive month.
This story is doubly interesting in that it measures top line revenue or sales which should be getting a lift from inflation but that is not the case in Saskatchewan where our plants saw sales fall back by almost two-percent for the month which is seven per cent behind the level we saw a year earlier. Along with BC, that is the largest retrenchment among the provinces.
Regionally, Saskatoon’s manufacturers were actually seeing gains in August – up 10 per cent while Regina bore the brunt of the pullback, falling two per cent for the month and almost 18 points compared to last year.
