Canadian manufacturing sales dipped by 0.9 per cent to $50.0 billion in March, a second consecutive monthly decline, Statistics Canada said Tuesday, although the drop wasn't as deep as economists had been expecting.

TD Economics said the consensus forecast for the month was for a pullback of 1.9 per cent.

Stats Can said the drop in March was mainly due to lower sales of transportation equipment and primary metals.

Sales were down in 16 of 21 industries, representing 88.3 per cent of Canadian manufacturing.

Sales of transportation equipment fell by 3.4 per cent to $10.8 billion in March, while primary metal sales fell 5.6 per cent to $3.5 billion.

Measured in constant dollar terms, sales rose by 0.1 per cent in March, indicating that higher volumes of manufactured goods were sold.

Mike Holden of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters on weaker March manufacturing sales 3:29

The numbers suggest weakness in Canada's economy after a brief strong period.

"Today's report largely supports our view that the pop in economic activity in [the first quarter] will be weaker than

previously thought and will nonetheless prove temporary, with the economy likely to settle into a lower

growth trajectory going forward," TD economist Warren Kirkland said in a commentary.

"While U.S. demand should prove supportive, the recent rally in loonie towards 78 US cents, in combination with a still soft global backdrop, will likely temper some of the momentum in Canadian exports and ultimately weigh on manufacturing sector activity," Kirkland said.