Canadian manufacturing sales dip

January manufacturing sales in Canada dipped 0.9 percent to $49.6 billion, with declines in 11 of 21 industry groups, Statistics Canada reported Friday. The decrease was led by the aerospace product industry, which dropped 34 percent to $913 million in January, the third reduction in four months, the report said. Monthly manufacturing sales in the primary metal industry were down 3.5 percent to $4.1 billion in January and machinery manufacturers reported a 4.5 percent decrease in sales to $3 billion. There was good news within the automotive manufacturing sector, where sales have grown 37.4 percent since last June, the agency said. By comparison, during the same period, U.S. automotive manufacturing sales advanced 6.4 percent. "Sales in the motor vehicle assembly industry rose 2.6 percent to $4.5 billion, the seventh consecutive month of sales increases," StatsCan said. "In January 2012, sales in the industry were at their highest level since November 2007."