According to Statistics Canada, real gross domestic product edged down 0.1 percent in November, partly offsetting an increase of 0.3 percent in October. Decreases in wholesale trade, finance and insurance, manufacturing and construction more than offset gains in 13 of 20 industrial sectors. Goods-producing industries were down 0.3 percent, the third decline in four months, while services-producing industries were essentially unchanged.
The wholesale trade sector decreased 1.1 percent in November, more than offsetting October's growth, as six of the nine subsectors declined.
Down for the second time in the last three months, machinery, equipment and supplies wholesaling contracted 2.1 percent in November as activity in the majority of wholesaling industries declined. Miscellaneous wholesaling was down 2.1 percent after three months of growth, on lower wholesaling of paper products and other miscellaneous products. The building material and supplies wholesaling subsector (-1.4 percent) decreased for the fifth time in six months, reflecting lower construction activity over this period.
The manufacturing sector contracted 0.5 percent in November, the third decline in four months, as the majority of subsectors were down.
Non-durable manufacturing declined 0.3 percent as five of the nine subsectors contracted. Petroleum and coal products manufacturing (-2.2 percent) contributed the most to the decline as output of petroleum refineries decreased, from maintenance and turnaround work at some refineries and lower production at other refineries. Food manufacturing was up 0.9 percent as higher output of grain and oilseeds milling (+9.4 percent) contributed the most to the increase.
Durable manufacturing was down 0.7 percent in November, with declines largely concentrated in transportation equipment (-2.7 percent) and machinery manufacturing (-2.9 percent). In the transportation equipment subsector, motor vehicle assembly was down 5.9 percent, largely due to atypical retooling and production schedules at some assembly plants. The decrease in assembly activity was also a contributing factor to the 5.6 percent decline in motor vehicle parts manufacturing. The decline in machinery manufacturing came from lower output of other general purpose machinery manufacturing and agricultural, construction and mining machinery industries.
The construction sector declined for the sixth consecutive month in November, contracting 0.3 percent to fall to its lowest level since the middle of 2017. Residential construction fell 1.0 percent as construction of single and semi-detached housing units, along with home alterations and improvements, continued to decline, while there were gains in row and apartment-type dwellings. Non-residential construction was down 0.7 percent as growth in industrial and commercial construction was more than offset by declines in public and other non-residential construction. Engineering and other construction (+0.2 percent) and repair construction (+0.2 percent) were both up.
The mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction sector edged down 0.1 percent in November, as increases in mining excluding oil and gas extraction and supporting activities were more than offset by a reduction in oil and gas extraction.
Mining excluding oil and gas extraction expanded 2.3 percent in November, partly offsetting the 4.6 percent decline in October. Non-metallic mineral mining was up 4.2 percent, largely as a result of a 5.2 percent increase in potash mining. Metal ore mining edged up 0.2 percent, as a 6.5 percent growth in copper, nickel, lead and zinc mining was partly offset by declines in other types of metal ore mining. Coal mining increased 5.2 percent in November, up for the fourth time in five months, driven by foreign demand.