Manufacturing sales were hit hard in March by the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistics Canada says plants either shut down or faced sharply lower demand during the last two weeks of the month. That decline is expected to continue showing in the April numbers. Across Canada, manufacturing sales were off 9.2 per cent in March. That’s the lowest level since June 2016 and the largest percentage drop since December of 2008 during the previous recession.

In Saskatchewan, sales were down 8.7 per cent in March. Three provinces had bigger drops. From March of the previous year, sales here were down 13.2 per cent. Again, three provinces saw larger declines. Nationally, sales were off 12.7 per cent. Total sales in Saskatchewan in March were $1.2 billion.

Contrast that with the Saskatoon census metropolitan area,which saw manufacturing sales in March jump 30.6 per cent . Regina saw a decline of 33.5 per cent. Year-to-year, sales here rose 16.6 per cent, and fell in Regina 25.8 per cent. Total sales in Saskatoon rang in at $355 million.