The Canadian manufacturing sector stagnated in April, which is an improvement from the contraction seen in March, notes the RBC Canadian Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index.
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The index, designed to provide a single-figure snapshot of the health of the manufacturing sector, registered 50.1 in April, slightly above the 50.0 mark, signalling overall manufacturing business conditions remained unchanged.
“Canada’s manufacturing sector kept its head above water in April, registering some improvement over the surprising series low recorded last month,” says Craig Wright, senior vice-president and chief economist, RBC. “While the overall gains made in April were tepid, we expect manufacturing output to pick-up, augmenting export activity and supporting Canada’s growth prospects.”
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Manufacturing output levels in April were largely the same as March, despite the volume of new orders having increased, albeit only marginally, the index notes.
Employment was also little-changed, while the rates of increase for both input costs and output charges eased.