Manufacturing sales climb in Canada

Canadian manufacturing sales rose 1 percent in October over September to $50.1 billion, Statistics Canada said Monday. Sales rose for the fifth month out of the past six, reaching the highest level since May 2012, the data agency said. Sales advanced in 13 of 21 industries, representing 49 percent of the country's manufacturing base. Sales gains were unevenly balanced, as sales of non-durable goods rose 2.6 percent and sales of durable goods -- items expected to last three years or more -- fell 0.5 percent. Food industry sales jumped 6.9 percent to $7.7 billion in the month, the largest one-month gain in 20 years. Chemical sales also rose, climbing 2.8 percent to $4.1 billion. The largest decline came from the transportation equipment industry, where sales fell $1.7 percent to $8.8 billion. Sales in transportation were off 1.9 percent in motor vehicles and down 4.5 percent in aerospace products.