According to Statistics Canada, prices for products sold by Canadian manufacturers, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), rose 0.3 percent in January, mainly due to higher prices for energy and petroleum products. Prices for raw materials purchased by Canadian manufacturers, as measured by the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI), increased 3.3 percent, primarily as a result of higher prices for crude energy products.
The IPPI rose 0.3 percent in January, after edging down 0.1 percent the previous month. Of the 21 major commodity groups, 7 were up, 10 were down and 4 were unchanged.
Prices for energy and petroleum products (+3.4 percent) were largely responsible for the increase in the IPPI in January, which was primarily moderated by lower prices for motorized and recreational vehicles (-0.9 percent). The decline in this product group was mainly attributable to lower prices for motor vehicle engines and motor vehicle parts (-1.5 percent), aircraft (-2.4 percent) and aircraft engines, aircraft parts and other aerospace products (-2.3 percent). The decrease in prices for motorized and recreational vehicles was closely linked to the appreciation of the Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar.
The IPPI increased 2.0 percent over the 12-month period ending in January, after posting a 2.3 percent increase in December.
Compared with January 2017, the increase in the IPPI in January 2018 was mainly due to higher prices for energy and petroleum products (+12.0 percent), which have been increasing year over year since December 2016. The year-over-year increase in the IPPI was primarily moderated by lower prices for motorized and recreational vehicles (-4.0 percent), particularly passenger cars and light trucks (-4.5 percent) and, to a lesser extent, motor vehicle engines and motor vehicle parts (-3.0 percent) and aircraft (-4.2 percent).
The RMPI rose 3.3 percent in January, following a 0.9 percent decline the previous month. Of the six major commodity groups, four were up, one was down and one was unchanged.
The increase in the RMPI was primarily due to higher prices for crude energy products (+5.9 percent), specifically conventional crude oil (+5.9 percent). The RMPI excluding crude energy products rose 1.2 percent in January. Prices for metal ores, concentrates and scrap (+1.5 percent) increased for the fourth consecutive month in January.
The RMPI rose 7.7 percent over the 12-month period ending in January, after posting an increase of 6.2 percent in December. Compared with January 2017, the increase in the RMPI in January 2018 was mainly due to higher prices for crude energy products (+12.9 percent), which have been increasing year over year since July 2017. To a lesser extent, metal ores, concentrates and scrap also contributed to the increase in the RMPI, with prices rising by 8.2 percent in January following an 8.7 percent gain the previous month.