Gross domestic product by industry, May 2014
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Released: 2014-07-31
Real gross domestic product rose 0.4% in May, a fifth consecutive monthly increase.
The output of service industries grew 0.4% in May, as most major industrial sub-sectors posted growth. There were notable increases in wholesale and retail trade, the real estate sector, transportation and warehousing services as well as professional services. The public sector (education, health and public administration combined) was unchanged in May. In contrast, the finance and insurance sector edged down.
The output of goods-producing industries rose 0.5% in May, following a 0.4% decline in April. The gain in May was mainly due to increases in manufacturing, mining and oil and gas extraction and, to a lesser extent, in construction. Utilities declined in May.
Chart 1
Real gross domestic product grows in May
Wholesale and retail trade rise
Wholesale trade rose 1.2% in May, after expanding 1.3% in April. The gain in May was mainly due to increases in wholesaling of motor vehicles and parts as well as in machinery, equipment and supplies. Wholesaling of personal and household goods as well as food, beverage and tobacco products also increased. In contrast, wholesaling of building materials and supplies, miscellaneous wholesalers and farm products declined.
Chart 2
Wholesale trade grows again
Retail trade increased 0.5% in May, following 1.1% growth April. Notable gains were recorded at building material and garden equipment and supplies stores, at motor vehicles and parts dealers and, to a lesser extent, at furniture and home furnishings stores. On the other hand, there were declines at food and beverage stores and at health and personal care stores.
Manufacturing output grows
Manufacturing output grew 0.8% in May. Durable-goods manufacturing grew 0.9%, mainly as a result of growth in motor vehicle production (+13%) and, to a much lesser extent, increases in primary metal and in furniture and related products. In contrast, miscellaneous manufacturing, computer and electronic product manufacturing and wood product manufacturing decreased.
Non-durable goods manufacturing grew 0.7% in May, with increases in most major industrial sub-groups. Gains were notable in manufacturing of chemical as well as petroleum and coal products.
Mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction increases
Overall, mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction increased 0.7% in May.
Oil and gas extraction advanced 0.7%, as a result of increases in both crude petroleum and natural gas production.
Support activities for mining and oil and gas extraction expanded 4.3%, as both drilling and rigging services grew.
In contrast, mining and quarrying (excluding oil and gas extraction) decreased 1.5% in May. This was mainly due to a decline in the copper, nickel, lead and zinc mining industry, partly as a result of maintenance activities. Potash mining also declined.
Construction increases
Construction increased 0.5%, largely as a result of gains in residential building and repair construction. Engineering construction edged up while non-residential building construction edged down.
The output of real estate agents and brokers rose 7.2% in May, as activity in the home resale market increased.
Transportation and warehousing services sector is up
The transportation and warehousing services sector rose 1.0% in May, mainly owing to increases in rail and air transportation services.
Other industries
The finance and insurance sector edged down 0.1% in May. A decline in banking services more than offset increases in financial investment and insurance services.
Utilities declined 0.9% in May, owing to a lower demand for both electricity and natural gas.
Professional services advanced 0.4%, mainly as a result of a gain in legal services.
Chart 3
Main industrial sectors' contribution to the percent change in gross domestic product, May 2014
Note to readers
The monthly gross domestic product (GDP) by industry data at basic prices are chained volume estimates with 2007 as the reference year. This means that the data for each industry and each aggregate are obtained from a chained volume index multiplied by the industry's value added in 2007. The monthly data are benchmarked to annually chained Fisher volume indexes of GDP obtained from the constant-price input-output tables up to the latest input-output tables year (2010).
For the period starting with January 2011, the data are derived by chaining a fixed-weight Laspeyres volume index to the prior period. The fixed weights are 2010 industry prices.
This approach makes the monthly GDP by industry data more comparable with the expenditure-based GDP data, chained quarterly.
All data in this release are seasonally adjusted. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Revisions
With this release of monthly GDP by industry, revisions have been made back to January 2013.
For more information about monthly national GDP by industry, see the System of macroeconomic accounts module on our website.
Data on gross domestic product by industry for June will be released on August 29.
Contact information
For more information, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca).
To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Allan Tomas (613-951-9277), Industry Accounts Division.
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