OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.5 per cent to $49.5 billion in August, the highest sales level since March 2012.

It says the gains mainly came in higher sales in the petroleum and coal products, and motor vehicle industries.

Constant dollar sales were up 1.8 per cent in August, indicating a gain in the volume of manufactured goods sold.

Sales in the petroleum and coal product industry rose 8.6 per cent to $6.8 billion, partly because some refineries emerged from slowdowns for maintenance and retooling.

Sales in the motor vehicle assembly industry rose 4.4 per cent to $4.7 billion as some plants reported higher-than-usual seasonal increases following scheduled shutdowns in July.

Higher sales were reported in eight provinces in August, but most of the gains were concentrated in ontario and New Brunswick, with Quebec and Manitoba reporting sales declines.