Higher sales in the transportation equipment and chemical industries drove the increase.

Overall, sales were up in 11 of 21 industries, representing 68% of total manufacturing sales. Non-durable goods rose 1.4% to $27.7 billion, while durable goods increased 0.5% to $30.9 billion.

Constant dollar sales increased 1.0%, indicating that a higher volume of goods was sold in July.

The gain in the transportation equipment industry accounted for more than half of the total increase in Canadian manufacturing sales in July. Sales in the industry were up 2.6% to $10.9 billion, mostly as a result of gains in the motor vehicle and the railroad rolling stock industries. In July, scheduled shutdowns for some assembly plants were shorter than in previous years. Sales in the motor vehicle assembly industry rose 3.0% to $5.4 billion, a second consecutive monthly increase. Sales in the railroad rolling stock industry were up 63.4% to $275 million, following a 30.4% decline in June. Sales in this industry tend to be volatile compared with transportation equipment as a whole.