Industrial product and raw materials price indexes, August 2024
Released: 2024-09-20
August 2024
-0.8% 
(monthly change)
August 2024
-0.2%
(monthly change)
August 2024
-3.1%
(monthly change)
August 2024
-1.8%
(monthly change)
Prices of products manufactured in Canada, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), decreased 0.8% month over month in August and rose 0.2% on a yearly basis. Prices of raw materials purchased by manufacturers operating in Canada, as measured by the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI), declined 3.1% month over month in August and fell 2.5% year over year.
Chart 1
Prices for industrial products decrease in August
Industrial Product Price Index
On a monthly basis, the IPPI decreased 0.8% in August, following a 0.1% decline in the previous month. Lower prices for energy and petroleum products were mainly responsible for the decline. Excluding energy and petroleum products, the IPPI decreased 0.2%.
Prices for energy and petroleum products declined 5.0% in August, the largest month-over-month decrease since December 2023 (-9.1%). The decline in this group in August 2024 was mostly due to lower prices for refined petroleum energy products, particularly diesel fuel (-7.4%) and finished motor gasoline (-4.2%).
Prices for primary non-ferrous metal products fell 1.6% month over month in August. Unwrought gold, silver and platinum group metals and their alloys (-1.3%) and unwrought copper and copper alloys (-4.7%) led the decrease. Concerns about economic conditions in China, the world's largest copper consumer, contributed to the monthly decline in copper prices.
The prices of meat, fish and dairy products declined for the second month in a row, down 1.7% in August, as fresh and frozen beef and veal (-4.9%) posted its largest single month-over-month decline since January 2024 (-5.6%). Slower seasonal demand partly contributed to the monthly decrease. Despite the price drops in July and August, beef prices remained at a high level.
The IPPI's monthly decline in August was moderated by higher prices for several commodities, with lumber and other wood products and chemicals and chemical products being the largest upward contributors.
Prices for lumber and other wood products rose 2.1% in August. Softwood lumber was the main driver of the higher prices in this group, rebounding 7.7% in August after four consecutive monthly declines.
Prices for chemicals and chemical products were up 1.0% month over month in August, mainly due to higher prices for plastic resins (+4.1%). Rising input costs and constrained supplies in the United States drove up resin prices.
Year over year
The IPPI rose 0.2% year over year in August, the fifth straight year-over-year increase.
Key upward year-over-year movements in the IPPI in August included unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys (+24.0%), unwrought aluminum and aluminum alloys (+33.2%), and petrochemicals (+12.2%). Precious metal prices were frequently supported by economic and geopolitical uncertainty over the 12 months ending in August.
On the other hand, prices decreased on a yearly basis in August for diesel fuel (-17.1%), finished motor gasoline (-11.8%), and grain and oilseed products, n.e.c. (not elsewhere classified) (-26.9%).
Raw Materials Price Index
The RMPI declined 3.1% month over month in August, led by lower prices for crude energy products (-5.0%). Excluding crude energy products, the RMPI fell 1.8%.
Prices for crude energy products declined 5.0% in August, mostly due to lower prices for conventional crude oil (-5.6%) and synthetic crude oil (-3.5%). Increasing market concerns over economic growth and oil demand, particularly in China, put downward pressure on crude prices.
The prices of crop products fell 6.1% in August, the third consecutive monthly decline and the largest decline since July 2022 (-9.2%). The decrease in August 2024 was primarily driven by lower prices for canola (-8.9%). Strong global production of canola and other oilseeds pressured prices downward. In August, the United States Department of Agriculture made upward revisions to its projections for global oilseed output, supply, and stocks for the 2024/2025 crop year.
Prices for metal ores, concentrates and scrap decreased 2.3% from July to August. Lower prices for gold, silver, and platinum group metal ores and concentrates (-2.5%) were the main contributor to the monthly decline.
Year over year
Year over year, the RMPI decreased 2.5% in August, following a 4.1% gain in July.
Lower prices for crude energy products, including conventional crude oil (-5.9%) and synthetic crude oil (-8.5%), were the main reason for the year-over-year decline in August. Other product groups that experienced notable year-over-year price decreases in August include canola (-26.5%) and nickel ores and concentrates (-19.1%). Supply was often elevated in the canola and nickel markets over the 12-month period ending in August.
On the other hand, product groups that experienced relatively large price increases in August 2024 relative to August 2023 include gold, silver, and platinum group metal ores and concentrates (+25.9%) and cattle and calves (+11.2%).
Chart 2
Prices for raw materials fall in August
Basket Update
The Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) and Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI) have updated their baskets. As of the August 2024 reference month, the weights of the index values will reflect 2019 production values of Canadian manufacturers, based on data from the Supply and Use Tables, the Annual Survey of Manufacturing and Logging and alternative data sources. The IPPI and RMPI series have been migrated from the North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) 2017 Version 2.0 to NAPCS 2022 Version 1.0 as part of the basket update process. IPPI series aggregated according to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 2017 Version 3.0 have been migrated to NAICS 2022 Version 1.0. This process resulted in several modifications including the addition of new series, the termination of series, and updates made to titles and definitions. Series that existed in our previous basket and did not experience a code change will continue to be calculated relative to the same base period (January 2020=100). New series introduced under the classification system migration have a base period of July (July 2024=100).
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Note to readers
The Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) and the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI) are available at the Canada level only. Selected commodity groups within the IPPI are also available by region.
With each release, data for the previous six months may have been revised. The indexes are not seasonally adjusted.
The IPPI reflects the prices that producers in Canada receive as goods leave the plant gate. The IPPI does not reflect what the consumer pays. Unlike the Consumer Price Index, the IPPI excludes indirect taxes and all costs that occur between the time a good leaves the plant and the time the final user takes possession of the good. This includes transportation, wholesale and retail costs.
Canadian producers export many goods. Canadian producers often indicate goods' prices in foreign currencies, especially in US dollars, which are then converted into Canadian dollars. This is particularly the case for motor vehicles, pulp and paper products, and wood products. Therefore, fluctuations in the value of the Canadian dollar against its US counterpart affect the IPPI. However, the conversion to Canadian dollars reflects only how respondents provide their prices. This is not a measure that takes into account the full effect of exchange rates.
The conversion of prices received in US dollars is based on the average monthly exchange rate established by the Bank of Canada and available in Table 33-10-0163-01 (series v111666275). Monthly and annual variations in the exchange rate, as described in the release, are calculated according to the indirect quotation of the exchange rate (for example, CAN$1 = US$X).
The RMPI reflects the prices paid by Canadian manufacturers for key raw materials. Many of those prices are set on the world market. However, as few prices are denominated in foreign currencies, their conversion into Canadian dollars has only a minor effect on the calculation of the RMPI.
Products
Statistics Canada launched the Producer Price Indexes Portal as part of a suite of portals for prices and price indexes. This webpage provides Canadians with a single point of access to a variety of statistics and measures related to producer prices.
The video "Producer price indexes" is available on the Statistics Canada Training Institute webpage. It introduces Statistics Canada's producer price indexes: what they are, how they are made and what they are used for.
Next release
The industrial product and raw materials price indexes for September will be released on October 22.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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