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Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce economist Avery Shenfeld published a research report Wednesday, "Grow Ontario, Grow", presenting an optimistic outlook for Canada's manufacturing sector.

Mr. Shenfeld's forecast was supported by remarkably strong reports on manufacturing sales growth and manufacturing new orders. Surprisingly, market history suggests financials and consumer discretionary stocks offer the best chance for investors to profit from the trend.

Month over month manufacturing sales in Canada jumped 2.5 per cent in July, whereas economists had forecast a far more tepid 1.1 per cent gain.

More importantly for investors, manufacturing new orders for July also surprised to the upside, at 4.6 per cent growth month-over-month, and a startling 8.9 per cent relative to July 2013. Sales data tells investors what's already happened, but new orders are forward-looking and often provide helpful hints on both future corporate profits and stock prices.

In an effort to capitalize on the trend, I looked for equity market sectors that have historically climbed most when manufacturing new orders improved. This analysis provided a surprise – over the last decade, financial stocks and consumer discretionary stocks benefited most, far more than the industrial stocks I would have expected.

I then looked at each member of the S&P/TSX Financials Index and the S&P/TSX Consumer Discretionary Index to uncover specific stocks that benefit from rising manufacturing activity. Three stood out; industrial-focused real estate investment trust Granite REIT, CIBC and Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd.

SOURCE: Scott Barlow/Bloomberg

Numbers are numbers and, while they're objective and helpful, must always be accompanied by further fundamental and subjective research. That said, at first glance, these stocks topped the list.

Granite REIT's largest tenant is auto industry giant Magna international Inc., one of the biggest beneficiaries of domestic manufacturing and export growth. CIBC, after pulling in its horns on overseas expansion, is the most domestically-focused of the big banks, so it makes sense that they would see positive effects from rising industrial activity. Canadian Tire's emphasis on auto parts, tools, and industrial supplies makes it a logical candidate to lead the retail sector if the manufacturing trend continues.

Follow Scott Barlow on Twitter @SBarlow_ROB.