Canadian Manufacturing Level Fall in March

According to the recently released IHS Markit Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ index (PMI), a measure of manufacturing business conditions, fell to a seasonally adjusted 46.1 in March. The lowest level since October 2010, from 51.8 in February. A reading below 50 shows contraction in the sector. The data is providing some of the clearest information yet of the economic damage the spreading COVID-19 virus is having on the domestic Canadian economy. In prepared remarks Tim Moore, economic director at HIS Markit said “Shrinking customer demand was almost exclusively attributed to production stoppages at home and abroad amid emergency public health measures to halt the COVID-19 pandemic.”