Monthly Survey of Manufacturing, June 2026
Released: 2026-08-14
Manufacturing sales posted their fifth consecutive monthly gain, rising 0.1% to $78.8 billion in June. Sales rose in 15 of the 21 subsectors, led by the chemical (+6.0%) and transportation equipment (+2.8%) subsectors. Meanwhile, the petroleum and coal product subsector (-14.1%) posted the largest decline. Total sales excluding the petroleum and coal product subsector increased 2.6% in June. With the overall gain in June, total manufacturing sales were up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis.
On a constant dollar basis, manufacturing sales increased 1.2% in June, while the Industrial Product Price Index fell 1.4%.
On a quarterly basis, manufacturing sales in current dollars increased 9.3% to $235.1 billion in the second quarter of 2026, the fourth consecutive quarterly increase and the highest level on record. The petroleum and coal product (+33.7%) and transportation equipment (+14.7%) subsectors contributed the most to the increase. Meanwhile, sales in the miscellaneous manufacturing subsector (-14.9%) declined the most in the second quarter. Excluding the petroleum and coal product subsector, sales were up 6.1% in the second quarter. On a constant dollar basis, total manufacturing sales increased 4.6%, led by the transportation equipment subsector (+14.7%).
Chemical sales drive monthly gain
Sales in the chemical subsector increased 6.0% to $6.3 billion in June. This was the fourth consecutive monthly gain and the highest level in the subsector since October 2022. Sales in constant dollars were up 6.8% in June 2026. The increase in the subsector was driven largely by higher sales of pharmaceutical products as well as resin, synthetic rubber, and artificial and synthetic fibres and filaments. On a quarterly basis, chemical product sales rose 10.9% in the second quarter of 2026, marking the second consecutive quarterly gain.
Sales in the transportation equipment subsector rose 2.8% to $12.4 billion in June, the fifth consecutive monthly increase. Sales increased in most of the transportation equipment industry groups. The strongest gains were recorded in the motor vehicle parts (+6.2%) and aerospace product and parts (+6.0%) industry groups, reflecting broad-based growth among auto parts producers and aerospace manufacturers. Exports of motor vehicles and parts also increased, rising 2.9% in June. On a quarterly basis, sales in the transportation equipment subsector rose 14.7% to $36.0 billion in the second quarter of 2026.
Following three consecutive monthly increases, sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector declined 14.1% to $10.1 billion in June. The decline was driven by lower prices of petroleum and energy products as sales in constant dollars declined 6.1%. Exports of refined petroleum energy products (including liquid biofuels) fell 16.8% during the same month. Although June sales declined month over month, they rose 47.4% year over year. Meanwhile, quarterly sales were up 33.7% in the second quarter of 2026.
Chart 1
Manufacturing sales
Sales increase in seven provinces, led by Quebec and Alberta
Manufacturing sales rose in seven provinces in June, with Quebec and Alberta posting the largest gains.
In Quebec, sales increased 1.5% to $20.3 billion in June, following a 1.0% decline in May. The gain was driven primarily by increased production of aerospace products and parts (+9.4%) and sales of primary metals (+5.2%). Production of aerospace products and parts in Quebec reached $2.1 billion in June, marking the highest level on record. Meanwhile, higher sales of alumina and aluminum production and processing drove the increase in the primary metal subsector. With the overall increase in June, total manufacturing sales in Quebec were up 6.1% in the second quarter of 2026.
Manufacturing sales in Alberta increased 1.6% to $10.8 billion in June, with gains reported in 13 of the 21 subsectors. The largest increases were recorded in the chemical (+18.0%) and food (+3.1%) subsectors. On a quarterly basis, manufacturing sales in Alberta rose 21.0% in the second quarter of 2026, primarily due to increased sales of petroleum and coal products (+37.8%).
Total inventories increase
Total manufacturing inventories increased 0.6% to $126.8 billion in June, on higher inventories of goods in process (+2.0%) and raw materials (+0.2%). Finished product inventories were down 0.3%. At the subsector level, inventories were up in 11 of the 21 subsectors, led by transportation equipment (+3.1%) and machinery (+2.0%). Inventories of petroleum and coal products (-3.6%) declined the most. On a quarterly basis, total inventory levels rose 2.0% in the second quarter of 2026.
Chart 2
Total inventories increase in June
The inventory-to-sales ratio increased from 1.60 in May to 1.61 in June. This ratio measures the time, in months, that would be required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current level.
Chart 3
The inventory-to-sales ratio increases in June
Unfilled orders increase
Unfilled orders reached a record high, rising 1.2% to $131.8 billion in June. The gain was driven largely by the aerospace product and parts industry group (+2.4%). On a quarterly basis, total unfilled orders rose 8.4% in the second quarter of 2026.
Chart 4
Unfilled orders increase in June
Capacity utilization rate increases
The manufacturing sector's capacity utilization rate (not seasonally adjusted) increased from 82.2% in May to 82.3% in June. The most noticeable increases were observed in the non-metallic mineral product (+4.3 percentage points), primary metal (+1.9 percentage points) and machinery (+0.6 percentage points) subsectors. In contrast, the capacity utilization rate in the transportation equipment subsector declined 2.9 percentage points during the same period.
Chart 5
Capacity utilization rate increases in June
Sustainable development goals
On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the following 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.
The Monthly Survey of Manufacturing is an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the global sustainable development goals. This release will be used to help measure the following goal:
Note to readers
Monthly data in this release are seasonally adjusted and are expressed in current dollars, unless otherwise specified.
Seasonally adjusted data are data that have been modified to eliminate the effect of seasonal and calendar influences to allow for more meaningful comparisons of economic conditions from period to period. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see the page Seasonal adjustment: Concepts and interpretation, 2026.
Trend-cycle estimates are included in selected charts as a complement to the seasonally adjusted series. These data represent a smoothed version of the seasonally adjusted time series and provide information on longer-term movements, including changes in direction underlying the series. For information on trend-cycle data, see the page Trend-cycle estimation: Concepts, interpretation, and calculation, 2026.
Both seasonally adjusted data and trend-cycle estimates are subject to revision as additional observations become available. These revisions could be large and could even lead to a reversal of movement, especially for reference months near the end of the series or during periods of economic disruption.
Non-durable goods industries include food; beverage and tobacco products; textile mills; textile product mills; apparel; leather and allied products; paper; printing and related support activities; petroleum and coal products; chemicals; and plastics and rubber products.
Durable goods industries include wood products; non-metallic mineral products; primary metals; fabricated metal products; machinery; computer and electronic products; electrical equipment, appliances and components; transportation equipment; furniture and related products; and miscellaneous manufacturing.
Production-based industries
For the aerospace and shipbuilding industry groups, the value of production is used instead of the value of sales of goods manufactured. The value of production is calculated by adjusting monthly sales of goods manufactured by the monthly change in inventories of goods in process and finished products manufactured. The value of production is used because of the extended period of time that it normally takes to manufacture products in these industries.
Unfilled orders are a stock of orders that will contribute to future sales, assuming that the orders are not cancelled.
New orders are those received whether sold in the current month or not. New orders are measured as the sum of sales for the current month plus the change in unfilled orders from the previous month to the current month.
Manufacturers reporting sales, inventories and unfilled orders in US dollars
Some Canadian manufacturers report sales, inventories and unfilled orders in US dollars. These data are then converted to Canadian dollars as part of the data production cycle.
For sales, based on the assumption that they occur throughout the month, the average monthly exchange rate for the reference month established by the Bank of Canada is used for the conversion. The monthly average exchange rate is available in table 33-10-0163-01. Inventories and unfilled orders are reported at the end of the reference period. For most respondents, the daily average exchange rate on the last working day of the month is used for the conversion of these variables.
However, some manufacturers choose to report their data using a day other than the last working day of the month. In these instances, the daily average exchange rate on the day selected by the respondent is used. Note that because of exchange rate fluctuations, the daily average exchange rate on the day selected by the respondent can differ from both the exchange rate on the last working day of the month and the monthly average exchange rate. Daily average exchange rate data are available in table 33-10-0036-01.
Revision policy
Each month, the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing releases preliminary data for the reference month and revised data for the previous three months. Revisions are made to reflect new information provided by respondents and updates to administrative data.
Once a year, a revision project is undertaken to revise multiple years of data.
Advance indicator
Statistics Canada will provide an advance estimate of sales in the manufacturing sector for July 2026 on August 24.
Next release
Data from the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing for July 2026 will be released on September 14.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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