Canadian Industrial Product and Raw Materials Price Indexes Post Month-Over-Month Increases in March

On Monday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that the price of products manufactured in Canada as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) increased 0.8% on a monthly basis in March, following a 1.1% increase in February. Year-over-year, the IPPI posted a 0.5% decline.

Lumber and other wood products experienced price growth for the third consecutive month in March, rising 3.6% driven by higher prices for softwood lumber, which posted a 7.8% gain. This was the fifth consecutive monthly increase for softwood lumber and the strongest month-over-month growth since July 2023, when prices increased 11.3%. Fueled in part by improving sentiment in the homebuilding sector as expectations rise for future interest rate cuts, demand for lumber has been strong recently, helping to push up prices, StatCan said.

StatCan also reported that prices of raw materials purchased by manufacturers operating in Canada as measured by the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI) increased 4.7% month-over-month, the largest monthly increase since March 2022 (+11.8%). Year-over-year, the RMPI was up 0.8%—the first year-over-year gain since September 2023.