Canada: Manufacturing sales increased for third consecutive month, up 1.1% to $54.6 billion in May

"Manufacturing sales increased for the third consecutive month, up 1.1% to $54.6 billion in May. The gain was mainly attributable to higher sales in the transportation equipment and chemical manufacturing industries," the Statistics Canada announced on Tuesday.

Key highlights:

• Sales were up in 16 of 21 industries, representing 71% of the manufacturing sector. Sales of durable goods rose 2.2%, while sales of non-durable goods declined 0.3%.

• In constant dollars, sales were up 1.1%, indicating that higher volumes of manufactured goods were sold in May.

• Manufacturing inventory levels edged down 0.2% to $73.7 billion in May, following five months of gains.

• Unfilled orders fell 1.5% to $89.1 billion in May, following three months of gains.