Factory shipments hit their lowest level in nearly two years in October, mainly because of falling petroleum prices and a slowdown in the food and transportation equipment sectors, Statistics Canada said today.

Canadian manufacturers shipped goods worth an estimated $47.7 billion, down 0.1% from September and the lowest level since December 2004.

While the rate of decline has eased, shipments have fallen for three consecutive months. As has been the case in three of the last four months, falling prices have been a major factor in the decline in shipment value.

After taking price fluctuations into account, the volume of shipments was down 0.6% to $43.7 billion, the lowest volume of shipments in nearly four years.

On a year-to-date basis, the volume of shipments fell 1.5% between January and October this year, compared with the same period last year.

Manufacturing shipments were essentially stuck in neutral with 10 of 21 manufacturing industries falling, 10 rising and 1 virtually unchanged in October.

Durable goods shipments turned around following three months of decline in the last four, rising 0.8% to $25.9 billion thanks to a strong showing in the machinery sector.

Non-durable goods shipments have declined on lower commodity prices for the past three months, falling by 1.1% to $21.9 billion in October.