Monthly Survey of Manufacturing (MSM)

Detailed information for January 2026

The Monthly Survey of Manufacturing (MSM) publishes statistical series for manufacturers - sales of goods manufactured, inventories, unfilled orders, new orders and capacity utilization rate.

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology

Description

The MSM publishes the values (in current Canadian dollars) of sales of goods manufactured, inventories, orders and capacity utilization rates.

Results from this survey are used by both the private and public sectors including federal and provincial government departments, the Bank of Canada, the System of National Accounts, the manufacturing community, consultants and research organizations in Canada, the United States and abroad, and the business press. Data collected by the MSM provides a current 'snapshot' of sales of goods manufactured values by the Canadian manufacturing sector, enabling analysis of the state of the Canadian economy, as well as the health of specific industries in the short- to medium-term.

Reference period: Month

Collection period: Collection of the data begins approximately 7 working days after the end of the reference month, and continues for the duration of that calendar month.

Subjects

• Machinery, computers and electronics
• Manufacturing

Data sources and methodology

Target population

Statistics Canada's business register provides the sampling frame for the MSM. The target population for the MSM consists of all statistical establishments on the Business Register that are classified to the manufacturing sector (by NAICS), which are categorized into over 156 industries. An establishment comprises the smallest manufacturing unit capable of reporting the variables of interest. The sampling frame for the MSM is determined from the target population after subtracting establishments that represent the bottom 10% of the total manufacturing sales of goods manufactured estimate for each cell. These establishments were excluded from the frame so that the sample size could be reduced without significantly affecting quality.

• Additional documentation

Instrument design

Both electronic and paper questionnaires are used to collect data for the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing (MSM). The questionnaires were developed at Statistics Canada and were reviewed and tested in the field in both official languages. In the course of redeveloping the MSM, Statistics Canada consulted with a number of manufacturers as well as with industry associations. In February 2016, the capacity utilization rate was added to the MSM questionnaire. Also the MSM questionnaire became available to respondents in electronic format in May 2017.

Sampling

This is a sample survey with a cross-sectional design.

The MSM sample is a probability sample comprised of approximately 6,500 establishments.

A new sample was chosen in the fall of 2017, followed by a six-month parallel run (from reference month September 2017 to reference month February 2018). The new sample was used officially for the first time for dissemination with the reference month December 2017.

This marks the first process of refreshing the MSM sample since 2012. The objective of the process is to keep the sample frame as fresh and up-to date as possible. All establishments in the sample are refreshed to take into account changes in their value of sales of goods manufactured, the removal of dead units from the sample and some small units are rotated out of the sample, while others are rotated into the sample.

Prior to selection, the sampling frame is subdivided into industry-province cells. Depending upon the number of establishments within each cell, further subdivisions were made to group similar sized establishments' together (called stratum). An establishment's size was based on revenue variables from the Business Register.

Each industry by province cell has a 'take-all' stratum composed of establishments sampled each month with certainty. This 'take-all' stratum is composed of establishments that are the largest statistical enterprises, and have the largest impact on estimates within a particular industry by province cell. These large statistical establishments comprise about 50% of the national manufacturing sales of goods manufactured estimates.

Each industry by province cell can have at most two 'take-some' strata. Not all establishments within these stratums need to be sampled with certainty. A random sample is drawn from the remaining strata. The responses from these sampled establishments are weighted according to the inverse of their probability of selection. In cells with take-some portion, a minimum sample size of 3 was imposed.

The take-none portion of the sample is now estimated from administrative data and as a result, 100% of the sample universe is covered. Estimation of the take-none portion also improved efficiency as a larger take-none portion was delineated and the sample could be used more efficiently on the smaller sampled portion of the frame.

Data sources

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents and extracted from administrative files.

The complete sample of establishments is sent out for data collection. Collection of the data is performed by Statistics Canada's Regional Offices. Respondents are sent an electronic or paper questionnaire or are contacted by telephone to obtain their sales, inventories, unfilled orders, capacity utilization rates, as well as to confirm the opening or closing of business trading locations. Collection also undertakes follow-up of non-respondents. Collection of the data begins approximately 7 working days after the end of the reference month and continues for the duration of that calendar month.

New entrants to the survey are introduced to the survey via introductory questions that confirm the respondent's business activity and contact information.

If data are unavailable at the time of collection, a respondent's best estimates are also accepted, and are subsequently revised once the actual data become available.

To minimize total non-response for all variables, partial responses are accepted.

Use of Administrative Data:
Managing response burden is an ongoing challenge for Statistics Canada. In an attempt to alleviate response burden, especially for small businesses, the MSM derives sales data for low-revenue establishments from Goods and Service Tax (GST) files using a ratio estimator. The ratio estimator also increases the precision of the surveyed portion of the estimate. For more information on the ratio estimator, see the section on estimation.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .