OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 2.1 per cent to $53.0 billion in September, rebounding from a sharp dro the previous month. This is the eigth gain in nine months.

Septembers growth was much stronger than the 1.1 per cent gain that economists had estimated.

Statistics Canada says the improvement from August was due to higher sales in the transportation equipment industry. Excluding transportation equipment, manufacturing sales rose 0.6 per cent.

Sales advanced 9.5 per cent in the transportation equipment industry, reaching $9.9 billion in September. Notwithstanding a 12.1 per cent decline in August, sales have been on an overall rise in 2014. On a year-to-date basis, sales for the industry were 8.8% higher than the same period in 2013.

Production in the aerospace product and parts industry rose 22.0 per cent to $1.9 billion in September.

In the motor vehicle industry, sales rose 4.8 per cent to $4.8 billion in September. Motor vehicle parts sales also rose in September, up 7.5 per cent to $2.2 billion, the seventh increase in nine months.

In the petroleum and coal products industry, sales declined 5.7 per cent in September, offsetting some of the gains.

It adds the primary metal and food industries also posted manufacturing sales gains.