Canada’s Industrial Product Price Index and Raw Materials Price Index Both Decline in June

Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported on Tuesday (7-18-23) that prices of products manufactured in Canada, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), decreased 0.6% month-over-month in June and have declined 5.5% year-over-year. June’s decline in the IPPI marks the third consecutive monthly decrease. Excluding energy and petroleum products, the IPPI fell 0.9% in June.

StatCan noted that prices for pulp and paper products declined 2.8% in June, the third consecutive monthly decline. On a yearly basis, the group was down 2.7%, the first year-over-year drop since May 2021. Wood pulp was mainly responsible for the decline—falling 5.4% during the month—due to an oversupply of pulp in the North American market, combined with weakening global demand (especially China), which put downward pressure on prices.

Prices of raw materials purchased by manufactures operating in Canada, as measured by the Raw Materials Index (RMPI), fell 1.5% on a monthly basis in June and were down 19.7% year-over-year. This marks the fifth consecutive year-over-year decline in the RMPI and the largest drop since April 2020, when it fell 31.6%.