Monthly Survey of Manufacturing

This publication provides estimated values of manufacturers' shipments, inventories and orders by month. Data are presented for 21 major groups and selected individual industries at the 3- to 6-digit level of detail, as defined by the 1997 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), as well as aggregates for durable, non-durable and total manufacturing. Major group industry data are shown with and without adjustment for seasonal variation. Unadjusted shipment totals by province and by major groups within provinces are also shown.

These data are used to monitor the business cycle in the manufacturing sector of the economy, to evaluate and develop financial and industrial policy, and to provide market data at the detailed industry level. Related information on manufacturers' opinions on the current state of inventories and orders and about employment and production prospects over the next three months are available from the Business Conditions Survey (BCS).

The survey is carried out at the beginning of January, April, July and October. Responses are available approximately five days after the reference month in Statistics Canada's The Daily. The BCS balance of opinion data often serves as a good guide to the direction of change, at least a month in advance of the corresponding quantitative data.

Beginning with the January 2001 issue, the tables are based on the 1997 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) instead of the 1980 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC).