Ottawa – Sales of primary metals reached a record high, rising 8.3% to $6.9 billion in February. In constant dollars, sales rose 6.9% during the same period, suggesting the gain was driven by higher prices and increased volume. Higher demand and prices for many non-ferrous metals, including alumina and aluminum products, were responsible for the increase. On a year-over-year basis, total sales in the primary metal subsector were 29.8% higher in February.
Following a 7.9% decline in January, chemical product sales rebounded by 6.7%, reaching $5.3 billion in February. The increase was partially due to higher sales of basic chemicals, as several plants restarted operations in February. Despite the monthly gain in February, total sales in the chemical products subsector were down 2.6% compared with February of the previous year.
Sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector fell 5.2% to $8.1 billion in February, following four consecutive monthly increases. This decline was driven by lower demand and, to a lesser extent, lower prices, as sales on a constant dollar basis decreased 4.2%. Exports of refined petroleum energy products (including liquid biofuels) were down 15.4% in February.
Sales increase in four provinces
Sales rose in four provinces in February, with Ontario and Quebec showing the largest increases. Alberta posted the largest decline.
Ontario’s sales increased 3.0% to $32.0 billion in February, marking the largest month-over-month increase since May 2023. The chemical product (+12.8%) and transportation equipment (+2.2%) subsectors were the biggest contributors to the increase in February 2025. In the chemical products subsector, higher sales of resin, synthetic rubber, and artificial and synthetic fibres and filaments drove the gain. Meanwhile, the transportation equipment subsector benefitted from increased sales of motor vehicle parts (+3.1%). Exports of motor vehicle engines and parts rose by 8.0% in February.
In Quebec, sales increased 0.7% to $19.3 billion in February, almost entirely from higher sales of primary metals, which rose 12.9% to $3.9 billion in February. The growth was largely due to higher sales in the non-ferrous metal (except aluminum) production and processing industry group.
Following two consecutive monthly gains, manufacturing sales in Alberta decreased 3.0% to $8.6 billion in February, largely due to lower sales in the petroleum and coal (-5.1%) and food (-4.3%) product subsectors. The decline in February was mainly attributable to lower demand and prices for petroleum as well as reduced sales of meat products. Oil prices fell in February, partly due to concerns over the global economic outlook and escalating trade tensions related to tariffs. Year over year, total sales in Alberta decreased 1.7% in February.
Total inventories increase
Total manufacturing inventories rose 0.8% to $122.0 billion in February, reaching the highest level since January 2024. All inventory components saw increases in February 2025, with raw materials (+0.9%) posting the largest gain, followed by finished products (+1.1%) and goods-in-process (+0.2%). Inventories in 12 of the 21 subsectors rose, led by the miscellaneous (+10.2%) and machinery (+1.9%) subsectors. The gain was partially offset by a 5.0% decline in inventories of petroleum and coal products.
The inventory-to-sales ratio increased from 1.66 in January to 1.67 in February. This ratio measures the time, in months, required to exhaust inventories if sales remain at their current level.