Industrial product and raw materials price indexes, March 2025

Released: 2025-04-22

In March, prices of products manufactured in Canada, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), rose 0.5% month over month and increased 4.7% year over year. Meanwhile, prices of raw materials purchased by manufacturers operating in Canada, as measured by the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI), declined 1.0% month over month and grew 3.9% year over year.

Chart 1 
Prices for industrial products increase in March

Industrial Product Price Index

The IPPI rose 0.5% month over month in March, marking the sixth consecutive month-over-month increase for the index.

Prices for energy and petroleum products had the largest downward impact on the IPPI in March, posting a 3.8% decline month over month after increasing for two months in a row. The decline was mainly due to lower prices for refined petroleum energy products (-4.1%), especially diesel fuel (-6.2%). Finished motor gasoline (-2.0%) also contributed to the decrease, although to a lesser extent. Lower prices for refined petroleum products were driven by a decrease in the prices of conventional crude oil (-4.1%), their primary production input. In addition, the end of the winter heating season approached in March, resulting in lower demand for distillate fuels and helping drive diesel prices down.

While energy and petroleum products exerted downward price pressure in March, multiple commodity groups posted significant increases, collectively outweighing the decline in energy prices.

The prices of primary non-ferrous metal products increased 3.8% on a monthly basis in March. This was the fourth straight monthly increase for the commodity group, and it was largely driven by higher prices for unwrought aluminum and aluminum alloys (+7.6%), unwrought gold and gold alloys (+3.5%) and unwrought silver and silver alloys (+3.8%). Prices for gold and silver primarily rose on account of continued political instability fuelling safe-haven investment demand in March.

Prices for lumber and other wood products rose 3.1% month over month in March, following two months of consecutive declines. This was the largest monthly growth for this commodity group since November 2024 (+4.7%), and it was mainly driven by higher prices for softwood lumber (+6.4%). Uncertainty driven by tariff threats, combined with growing demand heading into spring, put upward pressure on prices in March 2025.

Prices for meat, fish and dairy products increased 1.8% month over month in March, led by higher prices for fresh and frozen chicken (+7.2%). This subgroup posted its largest increase since March 2024 (+16.1%). Ongoing tightening of domestic supply was the main contributor to higher chicken prices in March 2025. According to data from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, monthly chicken production (in kilograms) in March fell on a yearly basis compared with March 2024. Total chicken storage stocks were down by 14.4% in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same quarter in 2024.

Year over year

The IPPI increased 4.7% year over year in March 2025. This was the IPPI's sixth consecutive year-over-year increase.

Unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys (+40.5%) was the subgroup with the biggest contribution to the IPPI's year-over-year gain in March by a large margin. Gold and silver prices were frequently supported by strong investment demand over the 12 months ending in March. Other key upward contributors included unwrought aluminum and aluminum alloys (+36.9%), softwood lumber (+13.5%) and unwrought copper and copper alloys (+18.8%).

Prices for finished motor gasoline (-8.4%) and prices for grain and oilseed products, n.e.c. (not elsewhere classified) (-11.0%) were the notable moderators of the IPPI's year-over-year increase in March. Finished motor gasoline prices were influenced by a base period effect, as they experienced an 8.5% month-over-month increase in March 2024 on account of seasonal factors and downtime at North American refineries.

Raw Materials Price Index

The RMPI declined 1.0% month over month in March, following three straight monthly increases. Excluding crude energy products, the RMPI rose 0.4% in March.

Prices for crude energy products fell 3.5% month over month in March, following a 4.7% decrease in the previous month. Lower prices for conventional crude oil (-4.1%) made the largest contribution to the monthly decrease in March, while synthetic crude oil prices fell 1.9%. Decreased oil prices were partly influenced by OPEC+ (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners) confirming a planned production increase scheduled to start in April.

Prices for crop products fell 3.3% from February to March, ending a streak of six straight monthly gains from September 2024 to February 2025. The decrease observed in March was driven by a 9.0% month-over-month decline in canola (including rapeseed) prices. Canola prices were pressured downward by demand uncertainty related to international trade developments in March. On March 8, China announced incoming tariffs on Canadian canola oil and canola meal. Uncertainty caused by tariff threats from the United States also contributed to declining canola prices in March.

The prices of metal ores, concentrates and scrap (+1.9%) increased for the seventh consecutive month in March and acted as the main moderator of the RMPI's monthly decline. Because of its large weight in the index, the gold, silver, and platinum group metal ores and concentrates (+1.1%) subgroup was most responsible for the monthly change in metal prices in March. Prices for copper ores and concentrates (+10.3%) had a significant contribution as well, posting their largest monthly increase since April 2024 (+10.7%). In March 2025, copper prices were pushed up by speculation that the metal might be hit by United States tariffs, which caused increased flows of copper to the United States as traders rushed to get ahead of potential tariffs. Higher demand in the United States also reduced available supply in other countries, resulting in elevated copper prices.

Year over year

The RMPI rose 3.9% on a yearly basis in March, the fifth consecutive year-over-year increase for the index. Excluding crude energy products, the RMPI posted a 14.7% year-over-year rise in March.

The RMPI's year-over-year increase in March was headlined by gains for gold, silver, and platinum group metal ores and concentrates (+39.5%) and cattle and calves (+18.9%). Cattle experienced tight supply over the 12 months ending in March, pushing up prices.

In March, prices notably declined on a year-over-year basis for conventional crude oil (-11.5%) and synthetic crude oil (-13.2%), moderating the RMPI's year-over-year increase. Month-over-month declines for these energy subcategories in February and March, combined with a base period effect, resulted in substantial year-over-year decreases in March.

Chart 2 
Prices for raw materials decline in March

Contact information

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