Manufacturers’ average profits were down a little.

The Commerce Department said American manufacturers had sales of $579.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 1986, compared to sales of $593.9 billion in the same period in 1985. Manufacturers’ after-tax profits totaled $19.2 billion in the fourth quarter last year compared to $20.1 billion in the year-ago period. These figures translated into profits of 3.3 cents per dollar of sales in the fourth quarter last year, down from profits of 3.4 cents per dollar of sales in fourth quarter 1985.