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Gross domestic product by industry
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Real gross domestic product decreased 0.1% in August after being unchanged in July. Oil and gas extraction and, to a lesser extent, manufacturing were the main sources of the decline in August. Wholesale trade, agriculture and forestry also retreated. Conversely, increases in the public sector, utilities, retail trade and construction mitigated these declines.
Oil and gas extraction drops
Oil and gas extraction fell 2.3% in August, as maintenance work at some crude petroleum facilities on the East Coast slowed production. Natural gas production also retreated. However, support activities for mining and oil and gas extraction increased in August, but their level remained near half that of a year ago.
The output of the mining sector excluding oil and gas extraction declined 1.4% in August, with mixed results within the sector. Iron ore mining increased substantially (+44%) following the reopening of some mines. However, temporary closures led to a 9.1% drop in output for copper, nickel, lead and zinc mines.
Note to readers
The monthly gross domestic product (GDP) by industry data at basic prices are chained volume estimates with 2002 as their reference year. This means that the data for each industry and aggregate are obtained from a chained volume index multiplied by the industry's value added in 2002. For the 1997 to 2006 period, the monthly data are benchmarked to annually chained Fisher volume indexes of GDP obtained from the constant-price input-output tables.
For the period starting with January 2007, the data are derived by chaining a fixed-weight Laspeyres volume index to the prior period. The fixed weights are the industry output and input prices of 2006. This makes the monthly GDP by industry data more comparable with the expenditure-based GDP data, chained quarterly.
Revisions
With this release of monthly GDP by industry, revisions have been made back to January 2009. For more information about monthly GDP by industry, see the National Economic Accounts module on our website (www.statcan.gc.ca/nea-cen/index-eng.htm).
Output of non-metallic mineral mines increased 0.3%, on the strength of potash, while miscellaneous non-metallic mineral mines (which include diamonds) decreased significantly.
The output of utilities increased 1.8%, as natural gas distribution and the production of electricity increased with the return of more seasonal temperatures, particularly in Central Canada.
Manufacturing output falls
Manufacturing activity decreased 0.7%, with 8 of the 21 major groups retreating. The drop in primary metal products accounted for much of the overall decline in the sector. Labour disputes were mostly behind the reduction in production of the sub-sector. Manufacturers of machinery and paper products, as well as printing and related support activities also reduced their production. Increases in the production of motor vehicles, food and wood products tempered the decrease in the manufacturing sector.
Wholesale trade retreats
The volume of wholesaling activity declined 0.5% in August, reflecting the weakness in foreign and domestic demand. All major wholesale trade groups retreated, with the exceptions of personal and household goods, and automotive products.
Increase in the public sector
Activity in the public sector (which includes education, health and public administration) increased 0.4%, largely as a result of the end of a strike by municipal employees in Toronto.
Retail trade increases
Value added in retail trade increased 0.3% in August. The volume of activity increased slightly among most types of retailers. New car dealers increased their activity after two monthly declines, as incentive programs may have bolstered sales.
Construction up slightly
Construction advanced 0.2% in August, the first increase since October 2008. A rise in engineering and repair work eclipsed reductions in both new residential and non-residential building construction. Residential alterations and improvement work advanced.
The level of activity of real estate agents and brokers remained high for a third consecutive month, following five months of strong growth.
Other industries
With the decrease in manufacturing and wholesaling activities, truck transportation receded in August. The finance and insurance sector decreased 0.1% in August, as lower credit intermediation and insurance services more than offset the increase in stock brokerage activities. Accommodation and food services advanced for a third consecutive month.
Available on CANSIM: table 379-0027.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 1301.
The August 2009 issue of Gross Domestic Product by Industry, Vol. 23, no. 8 (15-001-X, free), is now available from the Publications module of our website.
Data on gross domestic product by industry for September will be released on November 30.
For more information or to order data, contact our dissemination agent (613-951-4623; toll-free 1-800-887-4623; iad-info-dci@statcan.gc.ca). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Bernard Lefrançois (613-951-3622), Industry Accounts Division.
Table 1
| March 2009r | April 2009r | May 2009r | June 2009r | July 2009r | August 2009p | August 2009 | August 2008 to August 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | ||||||||
| month-to-month % change | $ millions¹ | % change | ||||||
| All Industries | -0.5 | -0.4 | -0.4 | 0.1 | -0.0 | -0.1 | 1,182,910 | -4.0 |
| Goods-producing industries | -1.5 | -1.7 | -1.4 | -0.6 | -0.5 | -0.7 | 318,699 | -12.5 |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting | -1.4 | -1.2 | -1.4 | -1.3 | -1.8 | -2.2 | 23,616 | -13.4 |
| Mining and oil and gas extraction | -3.0 | -3.0 | -1.9 | -1.0 | -1.0 | -1.9 | 48,151 | -15.0 |
| Utilities | 1.2 | -2.2 | -0.7 | -0.8 | -2.2 | 1.8 | 29,091 | -6.7 |
| Construction | -1.0 | -0.6 | -0.6 | -0.6 | -0.2 | 0.2 | 69,349 | -7.6 |
| Manufacturing | -1.3 | -1.4 | -1.7 | -0.2 | 0.3 | -0.7 | 146,036 | -14.6 |
| Services-producing industries | -0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 868,967 | -0.2 |
| Wholesale trade | -1.3 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.2 | -0.5 | 65,812 | -6.2 |
| Retail trade | 0.5 | -0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | -0.1 | 0.3 | 74,134 | -1.5 |
| Transportation and warehousing | -0.3 | -0.9 | -0.6 | 0.9 | 0.2 | -0.0 | 55,626 | -5.0 |
| Information and cultural industries | -0.1 | -0.3 | -0.3 | -0.3 | -0.3 | -0.3 | 45,627 | -1.7 |
| Finance, insurance and real estate | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 253,296 | 2.7 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | -0.3 | -0.0 | -0.2 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 | 60,387 | -1.5 |
| Administrative and waste management services | -0.9 | -0.5 | -0.7 | -0.6 | -0.4 | -0.3 | 29,704 | -5.4 |
| Education services | -0.1 | -0.0 | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 61,074 | 1.0 |
| Health care and social assistance | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 81,290 | 2.6 |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | -0.4 | 0.4 | -2.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 11,087 | -0.8 |
| Accommodation and food services | -0.1 | -0.1 | -1.2 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 27,142 | -0.9 |
| Other services (except public administration) | -0.2 | -0.1 | 0.0 | -0.0 | -0.1 | -0.1 | 32,190 | -0.3 |
| Public administration | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.3 | 0.6 | 71,960 | 1.6 |
| Other aggregations | ||||||||
| Industrial production | -1.7 | -2.1 | -1.7 | -0.6 | -0.5 | -0.8 | 225,638 | -13.9 |
| Non-durable manufacturing industries | -0.5 | -2.7 | 0.6 | 0.9 | -1.3 | -0.3 | 61,943 | -7.3 |
| Durable manufacturing industries | -2.0 | -0.3 | -3.6 | -1.0 | 1.6 | -1.0 | 83,792 | -19.8 |
| Business sector industries | -0.6 | -0.5 | -0.5 | 0.1 | -0.0 | -0.2 | 979,294 | -5.1 |
| Non-business sector industries | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 203,699 | 1.4 |
| Information and communication technologies industries | -0.5 | 0.2 | -0.4 | -0.1 | -0.1 | 0.2 | 58,630 | -1.7 |
| Energy sector | -2.1 | -3.4 | -1.4 | 1.1 | -0.8 | -1.0 | 76,374 | -9.3 |
