Canadian manufacturing shipments came in a bit stronger than expected in September, as Ontario rebounded from the impact of the August blackout.

Statistics Canada reported that shipments soared 5.2% to $43 billion in September, the highest level since March.

Increases were broadly based, as 17 of 21 manufacturing industries, representing 84% of total shipments, reported higher production. Ontario’s rebound (+$1.8 billion) from the blackout led the nine provinces reporting increases in September. Excluding Ontario’s impact, manufacturing shipments still rose a healthy 1.8%.

As with yesterday’s trade report, auto shipments led the way with a huge rebound. RBC Financial says that notable increases also came in the chemical products and computer and electronic products sectors.

September also brought the fifth successive decline in inventories StatsCan said. Inventories dropped 0.7% in the month, cutting the inventory to shipment ratio to 1.42 from 1.50 in August

However, BMO Nesbitt Burns says that, “The real humdinger in the report was the 8% surge in new orders, which more than reversed the 5.4% drop in August. This helped push the backlog of unfilled orders up by 1.1% – the first increase in this figure in over a year, and a hopeful sign that manufacturing activity is poised for further gains in Q4.”

“Today’s manufacturing report should add even more fuel to the already blazing Canadian dollar because it suggests that growth prospects in Canada have improved markedly. For the Bank of Canada, this will also mean that the chances of easing in December are next to none,” concludes RBC Financial.