As interprovincial and international demand conditions improved in late 2016, manufacturing sales surged by 6.7% in 2017 and are up by 5.9% in the first nine months of 2018.
Sales are up in most manufacturing sub-industries, and were led by fabricated metals, chemicals, food products, electrical products and transportation equipment. Only primary metal sales are down on a year-to-date basis in 2018.
Associated with strong manufacturing sales, Manitoba’s international merchandise exports increased by 12.1% in the first nine months of 2018. Supported by a large increase in sales of pharmaceutical products and a rebound in oil sales, exports to the U.S. are up by 21.8%.
A sharp decline in sales of soya beans to China has reduced overall exports to non-U.S. markets by 6.7% in the first nine months of the year.
Investment from Manitoba Hydro’s capital spending program coupled with a near record level of housing starts is supporting strong growth in capital investment in Manitoba.
According to Statistics Canada, private sector capital spending is expected to increase by 6.5% in 2018, the highest among provinces, following 6.2% growth in 2017. Capital spending in manufacturing is expected to reach a record $728 million in 2018.
Larger ongoing and planned manufacturing capital projects include investment at Hylife (modernizing and expanding its integrated pork production and processing system), Simplot (more than doubling its processing capacity for frozen french fries), and Roquette (constructing the world’s largest pea-protein processing facility).
Strong economic and demographic fundamentals and one-time factors resulted in a sharp increase in construction of new residential properties in 2017. Total housing starts jumped to 7,501 units, the highest level since 1987. There were 4,112 apartment units constructed in 2017, the highest level since 1979.
In 2018, new construction is unexpectedly strong, with almost 5,500 residential units started in the first nine months of the year. Depending on the fourth quarter, new starts could come in close to 7,000 units again this year.