Manufacturing sales in Saskatchewan were up 3.1 per cent June-to-July. That was good for third highest among the provinces. The national average was a drop of 1.3 per cent. Compared to the same period a year ago, the numbers are less appealing, with a decline in this province of about 11 per cent. Only New Brunswick had a worse showing. Nationally, there was a decline of 1.9 per cent. Total sales in Saskatchewan in July amounted to about $1.3 billion.
Among 12 census metropolitan areas, Saskatoon had the third largest drop in sales with a decline of 3.7 per cent, June-to-July. Year-to-year, our sales declined nearly 18 per cent. That was by far the greatest drop of the cities surveyed. Saskatoon recorded $290 million in sales in July. By comparison, Regina had $473 million in sales which was a rise of about 1 per cent month-to-month and a drop of about 7 per cent year-to-year.