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Canadian manufacturing nosedives in March

IHS Markit says production last month fell at the fastest pace in at least nine and a half years
manufacturing-sasintipchai-shutterstock
Canadian manufacturing fell sharply in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic | SasinTipchai/Shutterstock

What happened: IHS Markit survey data shows that Canadian manufacturing production fell at its fastest pace since the organization first starting collecting data nine and a half years ago.

Why it matters: Declines in output, new orders and employment reflect weaker customer demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canadian manufacturing production fell sharply in March due to weaker customer demand and reduced production capacity – both the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its social and economic impacts.

Overall manufacturing conditions saw their sharpest downtown last month in nine and a half years, when IHS Markit started compiling manufacturing survey data.

The latest IHS Markit Canadian manufacturing survey shows the sector saw its greatest reduction in new business volumes since October 2010, along with its fastest decline in staffing levels. Production volumes fell sharply month-to-month.

"Canadian manufacturers reported the steepest downturns in production, new orders and employment for at least nine-and-a-half years in March. Shrinking customer demand was almost exclusively attributed to production stoppages at home and abroad amid emergency public health measures to halt the COVID-19 pandemic,” wrote IHS Markit economics director Tim Moore in a report published Wednesday.

“Some manufacturing companies cited an additional fall in new business related to a sharp drop in spending by clients in the energy sector.”

The survey also noted that supplier delivery times saw their steepest extension in March since the survey first began.

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