Monthly Survey of Manufacturing, March 2026
Released: 2026-05-15
Manufacturing sales reached their highest level since January 2025, rising 3.0% to $73.6 billion in March. Sales rose in 9 of the 21 subsectors, led by the petroleum and coal product (+22.7%) and transportation equipment (+6.0%) subsectors. Excluding the petroleum and coal product subsector, total manufacturing sales rose 0.7% in March. With the overall gain in March, total manufacturing sales on a year-over-year basis increased 3.5%.
In real terms, total sales increased 1.0% in March, while the Industrial Product Price Index was up 2.4%.
On a quarterly basis, manufacturing sales edged up 0.1% to $214.1 billion in the first quarter of 2026, the third consecutive quarterly increase. The petroleum and coal product (+4.9%) and primary metal (+4.3%) subsectors were the main contributors to the quarterly increase. Meanwhile, transportation equipment sales (-6.5%) declined the most.
Petroleum and coal product sales drive monthly increase
Sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector rose 22.7% to $9.4 billion in March, marking their highest level since September 2023. The increase was driven largely by higher prices, as sales in real terms fell 3.5%. Prices for energy and petroleum products grew by 27.4% in March amid increased geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which disrupted energy markets and shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Petroleum product sales on a quarterly basis were up 4.9% in the first quarter of 2026, marking the third consecutive quarterly gain. Exports of refined petroleum energy products rose 14.4% in March.
Following a 19.8% increase in February, sales of transportation equipment rose 6.0% to $11.4 billion in March. Within the transportation equipment subsector, the motor vehicle industry group posted the largest gain (+15.0%). Auto production increased in March following the completion of retooling at a major auto manufacturer and the addition of a new production shift in another motor vehicle assembly plant. Exports of motor vehicles and parts increased 5.4% in March. Despite the gain observed in March, sales of motor vehicles on a quarterly basis were down 13.6% in the first quarter of 2026.
Production of aerospace products and parts reached their highest level on record, rising 5.2% on a month-over-month basis to $3.0 billion in March. Canada's aerospace industry continues to grow in 2026 mainly due to strong global demand for commercial and business aircraft, aircraft parts and maintenance services. On a quarterly basis, aerospace production rose 1.4% to $8.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026. Exports of aircraft, aircraft engines and aircraft parts rose 1.2% in March.
Chart 1
Manufacturing sales
Sales increase in eight provinces, led by Ontario and Alberta
Manufacturing sales rose in eight provinces in March with Ontario and Alberta posting the largest increases.
Manufacturing sales in Ontario increased 2.2% to $31.4 billion in March, marking a second consecutive monthly gain. Sales rose in 8 of 21 subsectors, led by transportation equipment (+8.1%) and petroleum and coal product (+21.8%). The increase in the transportation equipment subsector was driven by higher sales of motor vehicles (+14.4%) and motor vehicle parts (+1.0%), along with higher production of aerospace products and parts (+8.5%). Meanwhile, sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector rose 21.8% to $2.5 billion, the highest level since February 2024.
On a quarterly basis, total manufacturing sales in Ontario declined 2.1% in the first quarter of 2026, with transportation equipment contributing the most to the overall decrease.
In Alberta, sales increased 4.4% on a month-over-month basis to $8.9 billion in March, driven primarily by increased sales of chemicals (+16.8%) and petroleum and coal products (+7.7%). Higher sales of basic chemicals as well as resin, synthetic rubber, and artificial and synthetic fibres and filaments contributed the most to the gain in chemical manufacturing. With the overall increase in March, total manufacturing sales in Alberta rose 4.7% on a year-over-year basis while they were down 0.2% in the first quarter of 2026.
Total inventories increase
Total manufacturing inventories increased 1.3% to $124.2 billion in March, on higher inventories of goods in process (+1.8%), raw materials (+1.1%) and finished products (+1.2%). At the subsector level, inventories were up in 10 of the 21 subsectors, led by the petroleum and coal product (+16.3%) and fabricated metal product (+4.7%) subsectors. Meanwhile, inventories of machinery declined the most (-2.7%). On a quarterly basis, total inventory levels rose 3.0% in the first quarter of 2026.
Chart 2
Total inventories increase in March
The inventory-to-sales ratio declined from 1.72 in February to 1.69 in March. 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 decreases in March
Unfilled orders increase
Unfilled orders reached a new record high, rising 2.4% to $121.3 billion in March. The increase was driven by the aerospace product and parts industry group (+6.1%). Year over year, total unfilled orders were up 8.5% in March, while on a quarterly basis they rose 3.2% in the first quarter of 2026.
Chart 4
Unfilled orders increase in March
Capacity utilization rate increases
The capacity utilization rate (not seasonally adjusted) for the total manufacturing sector rose from 76.9% in February to 82.2% in March. The gains were most noticeable in the transportation equipment (+12.6 percentage points), petroleum and coal product (+5.5 percentage points), and primary metal (+4.8 percentage points) subsectors. In contrast, the capacity utilization rate in the computer and electronic product subsector fell 0.9 percentage points during the same period.
Chart 5
Capacity utilization rate increases in March
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
Starting with the May 2026 release of March data, estimates of sales of goods manufactured, inventories and orders in tables 16-10-0047-01, 16-10-0048-01 and 16-10-0011-01 have been revised back to January 2023 for unadjusted data and back to January 2021 for seasonally adjusted data.
Real manufacturing sales, orders, inventory owned and inventory-to-sales ratio estimates in table 16-10-0013-01 have been revised back to January 2021.
Unadjusted estimates of capacity utilization rates in table 16-10-0012-01 have been revised back to January 2023.
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 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 Trend-cycle estimates – Frequently asked questions.
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 April 2026 on May 26.
Next release
Data from the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing for April 2026 will be released on June 15.
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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