Canadian Factory Shipments Fall in March

May 13, 2005 9:00 AM, EDT

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anadian factory shipments fell unexpectedly in March, while inventories reached their highest level in more than three years on slower automobile sales, Bloomberg reported Friday.

Shipments fell by about $40 million in the month, Bloomberg reported, citing Statistics Canada, a government agency. February’s decline was revised upward to 0.7% from 0.5%.

Sixteen of 21 manufacturing industries accounting for 80% of total shipments reported declines, Bloomberg said.

Motor vehicle manufacturers reduced shipments by 11% to $4.3 billion in part due to higher gasoline costs.

Unfilled orders rose 2.1% and new orders fell 0.5% to $40 million.