Manufacturing sales up 3.3% in September, highest level since February

Employees work along the vehicle assembly line at a Honda EV battery plant in Alliston, Ont., in 2024.

Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 3.3 per cent to $72.1-billion in September, its highest level since February.

The agency says the increase came as sales rose in 14 of the 21 subsectors, boosted by a 9.2-per-cent gain in transportation equipment and a 5.3-per-cent gain in the petroleum and coal subsector.

Total sales in constant dollars rose 2.7 per cent in September.

In a separate report, Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and oilseed and grain, rose 0.6 per cent.

Wholesale sales, excluding those same items, in volume terms also rose 0.6 per cent in September.

The overall increase in wholesale sales