PEI

P.E.I. manufacturers bounce back in November

After a weak October suggested P.E.I. manufacturing sales might fade at the end of the year, manufacturers posted a big gain in November.

Sales had faded in October

A bin filled with lobsters is in the foreground of the photo. In the background are workers at the lobster processing plant.
Non-durable goods are leading manufacturing sales growth on P.E.I. (Robert F. Bukaty/The Associated Press)

After a weak October suggested P.E.I. manufacturing sales might fade at the end of the year, manufacturers posted a big gain in November.

Island manufacturers led the country in sales growth in 2016, and were well ahead of the 2016 pace at the end of August. Sales remained strong in September, but then crashed in October, down almost nine per cent from the previous year.

But sales bounced back in November, up 16 per cent over the previous year.

Non-durable goods, which includes food processing, were up 21.5 per cent in November, while durable goods sales were up four per cent.