Canada PMI manufacturing dropped to 52.6 in February, lowest level in 26 months. Markit noted weakest upturn in overall business conditions since December 2016, softer jobs growth offsets slight rebound in new orders, and production levels rise at moderate pace.
Christian Buhagiar, President and CEO at SCMA said:
“Canadian manufacturers experienced a slowdown in overall business conditions during February, with weaker employment growth the main factor weighing on the headline PMI reading.
“Production growth was relatively subdued, reflecting a sustained soft patch for incoming new work so far this year. Survey respondents noted that trade frictions and heightened global economic uncertainty had led to delayed decisionmaking among clients on new orders.
“The main positive developments were signs of reduced pressure on supply chains and a fall in input cost inflation to its lowest since September 2016. The latest deterioration in vendor performance was the least marked for almost two years, despite reports that adverse weather conditions had caused some disruption to supply chains in February.”
