Canada: Manufacturing sales increased 2.1% to $58.0 billion in March

"Manufacturing sales increased 2.1% to $58.0 billion in March, following a 0.2% decrease in February and a 0.9% gain in January," Statistics Canada reported on Thursday.

Key takeaways from the press release

• Total inventories rose for the fourth consecutive month, up 1.0% to $86.9 billion, with gains in 12 of 21 industries.
• Unfilled orders increased 0.1% to $100.3 billion despite declines in 11 of 21 industries.
• The unadjusted capacity utilization rate for the manufacturing sector increased from 78.5% in February to 80.7% in March.