Canadian Industrial Product & Raw Materials Price Indices Both Declined Month-Over-Month in August
Industrial product and raw materials price indexes, August 2022
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today (9-19-22) that the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) fell 1.2% month-over-month in August, its third consecutive monthly drop. Year-over-year the IPPI increased 10.6%. Prices of raw materials purchased by manufactures operating in Canada, as measured by the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI), declined 4.2% on a monthly basis in August but increased 17.6% year-over-year.
The price of softwood lumber declined 7.5% in August, continuing the downward trend that started in April of this year. In August, prices were up 10.2% compared with the same month in 2021 and were 68.9% higher than in January 2020. A slowing in the U.S. housing market and higher mortgage interest rates both played a role in the monthly decrease. In July, US housing starts dropped 9.6%, the lowest level since February 2021.
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