OTTAWA, April 15 - Canadian February factory sales decreased 1.6% from January on cars and car parts amid a shortage of semiconductors that has stalled production at some plants, Statistics Canada said on Thursday.
Excluding vehicles and parts, manufacturing sales were down 0.2%. A flash estimate for March factory sales released last month had foreseen a decline of 1.0%. January, motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts manufacturers have faced a semiconductor shortage, which has led to production slowdowns or shutdowns at several auto assembly plants," Statscan said.
The slowdown in car production has in turn hit demand for makers of plastic products used in the auto industry, Statscan said.
Last week, General Motors Co (NYSE:GM) GM.N and Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Co F.N , which both have assembly lines in Canada, announced further vehicle production cuts because of the chip shortage.
The semiconductor shortage also brought down both imports and exports in February, according to data published last week. supply chain constraints, manufacturing production in the United States jumped 2.7% in March after declining 3.7% in February, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday.