According to Statistics Canada, prices for products sold by Canadian manufacturers, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), increased 1.4 percent in November, mainly attributable 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), rose 5.5 percent, primarily due to higher prices for crude energy products.
The IPPI rose 1.4 percent in November, following a 1.1 percent increase in October. Of the 21 major commodity groups, 16 were up, 4 were down and 1 was unchanged.
Prices for motorized and recreational vehicles increased 0.7 percent in November, following a 1.6 percent gain the previous month. Higher prices for motor vehicle engines and motor vehicle parts (+0.9 percent), passenger cars and light trucks (+0.4 percent) and aircraft (+1.4 percent) were the largest contributors to the increase in this product group.
The IPPI rose 2.7 percent over the 12-month period ending in November, following a 1.7 percent gain in October. 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 (-5.0 percent) and, to a lesser extent, motor vehicle engines and motor vehicle parts (-2.5 percent) and aircraft (-3.4 percent).
The RMPI rose 5.5 percent in November, following a 3.8 percent increase in October. This was the largest gain in the RMPI since December 2016, when prices rose 6.3 percent.
While prices in all six major commodity groups increased compared with October, the increase in the RMPI was mainly due to higher prices for crude energy products (+10.3 percent). Prices for metal ores, concentrates and scrap rose 1.4 percent in November, following a 3.6 percent increase the previous month.
The RMPI rose 14.2 percent year over year in November, following a 6.6 percent gain in October. Compared with November 2016, the increase in the RMPI was mainly due to higher prices for crude energy products (+25.4 percent), particularly conventional crude oil (+26.7 percent). Prices for metal ores, concentrates and scrap increased 9.3 percent compared with November 2016, continuing an upward trend that began in July 2016.