Marc Tremblay assembles goalie pads at Brian's Custom Sports in Kingsville, Ontario, December 21, 2011.
Canadian manufacturing sales rose for the fifth time in six months in December, though the 0.6-per-cent increase fell short of expectations for a 1.5-per-cent rise, Statistics Canada data showed on Thursday.
In constant dollar terms, of relevance in calculating real moves in gross domestic product, sales rose a stronger 1.2 percent. A decline in oil product prices was largely responsible for the overall fall in manufacturing prices.
November's factory sales increase was revised downward slightly to 1.9 per cent from an originally reported 2.0 per cent.
Durable goods sales rose 2.1 per cent in December, with motor vehicle manufacturers sales up by 2.9 per cent to the highest level since November 2007. Non-durables fell 0.9 per cent. For 2011 as a whole, manufacturing sales rose 7.8 per cent from 2010 to $571-billion.
Statistics Canada said seven of 21 manufacturing industries had now reached or surpassed levels of October 2008, when the recent economic downturn started.