Canadian factory sales in January rose at the fastest pace in almost a year as increased proceeds for steel producers countered falling car-maker revenue. Sales rose 1.5 percent to C$50.4 billion ($45.6 billion), the fastest pace since February 2013 and fully recovering December losses, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast sales would rise 0.6 percent, according to the median of 18 estimates. Statistics Canada revised December’s drop to 1.5 percent from an initially reported 0.9 percent, and said January inventories climbed 3.6 percent, the most since at least 1992. Canadian manufacturing has been a drag on the economy for more than two years, with the value of monthly sales still below post-recession highs reached at the end of 2011. About 36,000 people in the world’s 11th-largest economy have lost manufacturing jobs since the start of 2013, even as global growth accelerated and the Canadian dollar weakened. Sales in the primary metal industry rose 8.0 percent in January, in part due to higher prices, the agency said. Food producers saw sales rise 2.7 percent, while aerospace shipments were up 3.3 percent. Sales were up in 12 of 21 industries tracked by Statistics Canada, accounting for about 46 percent in manufacturing shipments, including gains for chemical producers and computer and electronic product manufacturers. Shipments of motor vehicles fell 4.7 percent in January. Excluding price changes, a better indicator of the industry’s contribution to economic growth, factory sales rose 0.7 percent. Unfilled orders rose 4.8 percent to C$78.4 billion and new orders increased 2.6 percent to C$53.9 billion in January. Inventories rose to C$71.4 billion, pushing the ratio of factory stockpiles to sales to 1.42 from 1.39.

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