Analysis - Fourth Quarter 2010
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Industrial Product Price Index, Selected Construction MaterialsSeries
(See table 2)
In the fourth quarter of 2010, the four largest quarterly price changes among the commodities used in construction were one increase and three decreases, one of which was in architectural group, two in the structural group and one in the "other" group. The increase was diesel fuel (+13.7%) while the three decreases were plywood from softwood excluding Douglas fir (-4.8%), sheet, strip & plate carbon steel hot rolled (-3.7%) and particle board and waferboard (-3.6%).
Prices for diesel fuel rose 13.7% in the fourth quarter after dropping by 1.4% in the second quarter and 1.3% in the third quarter.
Prices for plywood excluding Douglas fir, which had risen in the second quarter 2010, fell by 13.2% in the third quarter and 4.8% in the fourth quarter.
Prices for sheet, strip & plate carbon steel hot rolled, fell 3.7% in the fourth quarter, its first drop in four quarters.
After four consecutive quarterly increases, prices for particle board and waferboard fell 10.7% in the third quarter and 3.6% in the fourth quarter.
The four largest year-over-year changes were all increases of which two were in the structural group, one in the mechanical group and one in the "other" group. These changes were: concrete reinforcing bars, not fabricated (+15.1%), pipe fittings, rubber or plastic (+13.7%), diesel fuel (+12.9%) and structural shapes, steel including fabricated (+10.9%).
Prices of concrete reinforcing bars have been rising year-over-year for the past three quarters with increases of 9.8% in the second quarter, 11.5% in the third quarter and 15.1% in the fourth quarter.
Pipe fittings, rubber or plastic have been registering year-over-year price increases since the first quarter of 2010, these being 8.1% in the first quarter, 16.0% in the second quarter, 13.6% in the third quarter and 13.7% in the fourth quarter.
After significant year-over-year drops in the price of diesel fuel throughout the four quarters of 2009, prices have risen year-over-year by 17.1% in the first quarter of 2010, 16.1% in the second quarter, 7.2% in the third quarter and 12.9% in the fourth quarter.
After only moderate year-over-year price variations in the second and third quarters of 2010, prices of structural shapes, steel including fabricated, increased by 10.9% in the fourth quarter 2010.
Construction Union Wage Rates Index
(See table 4)
In the fourth quarter of 2010 the Canada Total Construction Union Wage Rates Index (including supplements) increased by 0.1% from with the previous quarter, and was 1.3% higher compared with the fourth quarter of 2009.
On a regional basis, the index for the Atlantic Region registered the highest quarterly change (+0.6%) followed by the Prairie Region (+0.4%). The Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia Regions remained unchanged from the previous quarter.
New Housing Price Index
(See table 5)
The New Housing Price Index (2007=100) increased 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2010, up from the previous increase of 0.2%. The Atlantic Region (+1.4%), Quebec (+1.1%), and Ontario (+0.6%) all posted increases, while the Prairie Region (-0.1%) and British Columbia (-0.4%) decreased the quarter.
Material and labour costs as well as elevated land values contributed to increases in the Atlantic Region. St. John's (+2.8%), and Halifax (+0.9%) posted increases this quarter. Charlottetown (-0.3%) saw its 5th consecutive decrease due mainly to lower negotiated selling prices while Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton posed a small decrease from last quarter (-0.1%).
In Quebec, both Montréal (+1.3%) and Québec (+0.3%) registered increases. Higher land development costs were the primary reason for the increases in both metropolitian areas.
Material and labour costs as well as competitive market conditions contributed to the increases in Ontario this quarter. The metropolitan areas of Ottawa-Gatineau (+1.3%) Toronto (+0.7%), Greater Sudbury and Thunder Bay (+0.6%), Hamilton (+0.4%), Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (+0.1%) and London (+0.1%) recorded increases, while Windsor (-1.1%) and St.Catherine's-Niagara (-0.6%) recorded decreases during the same time period.
In the Prairie Region, Saskatoon (+0.8%) and Winnipeg (+0.5%) experienced increases which were mainly attributed to rising material and labour costs. Calgary saw a slight decrease (-0.3%) due to builders lowering their house prices to offset increased land development costs. Regina and Edmonton remained unchanged.
In British Columbia, both Victoria (-0.7%) and Vancouver (-0.4%) posted decreases as builders reduced their prices in order to stimulate sales.
Apartment Building Construction Price Index
(See table 6)
The composite price index for apartment building construction increased 0.4% in the fourth quarter compared with the previous quarter.
Overall, six of the seven census metropolitan areas (CMAs) surveyed reported quarterly increases. Montréal and Vancouver (+0.7% each) recorded the largest quarterly gains while Calgary posted no change.
Year-over-year, the composite price index for apartment building construction was up 1.6%. Of the seven CMAs surveyed, Ottawa–Gatineau, Ontario part (+4.7%) and Edmonton (+4.6%) posted the largest increases, while Calgary (-0.7%) recorded the only decline.
Non-residential Building Construction Price Index
(See table 7)
The composite price index for non-residential building construction increased by 0.4% in the fourth quarter compared with the previous quarter. This was the third consecutive quarterly increase.
All of the seven census metropolitan areas (CMAs) surveyed reported quarterly increases between 0.1% and 1.0%. Montréal (+1.0%) recorded the largest gain.
Year-over-year, the composite price index for non-residential building construction was up 1.7%. Of the CMAs surveyed, Edmonton (+5.8%) and Ottawa–Gatineau, Ontario part (+4.7%) recorded the largest increases while Calgary (-0.3%) recorded the only decrease.
Machinery and Equipment Price Index
(See table 8)
The Machinery and Equipment Price Index (MEPI) declined by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. The import component decreased by 2.0% over this period while the domestic component fell by 0.2%. The total MEPI decreased by 2.4% compared with the fourth quarter of 2009, with the import component falling by 3.7% and the domestic component down by 0.4%.
All industries recorded declines in the prices of machinery and equipment purchased in the fourth quarter. The largest contributor to the total MEPI decline was manufacturing industries (-1.7%), led by the following subcomponents: transportation equipment manufacturing (-1.6%) and primary metal and fabricated metal product manufacturing (-1.6%). The second largest industry sector contributor to the quarterly decline of the total MEPI was other services (excluding public administration), which was down by 1.4%.
Among commodities, other industry specific machinery (-1.9%) and computers and peripherals equipment such as terminals, printers and storage devices (-4.1%) were the largest contributors to the quarterly decline of the total MEPI.
The Canadian dollar appreciated by 2.6% against the US dollar in the fourth quarter, while year-over-year, it gained 4.3% against its US counterpart. Variations in exchange rates can have a strong influence on the MEPI given the high weight that imported machinery and equipment has in the index.
Electric Utility Construction Price Index
(See table 9)
Annual 2009 (final) and annual 2010 (preliminary)
Construction costs for the distribution systems series increased by 2.2% in 2010 compared with the 2009 annual index. Higher costs for labour (+4.4%) and construction indirects (+2.2%) were the major contributors to the advance of the index.
Construction costs for the transmission line system series rose 0.9% during 2010, while the transmission line component increased 1.9%, largely as a result of installation labour (+4.4%). The substation component edged up 0.3% in 2010, led by a 2.1% increase in the construction indirects component.
Compared with 2008 final data, the 2009 data show increases for both the distribution systems series (+0.5%) and the transmission line system series (+0.6%). The transmission line component declined by 0.7%, while the substation component increased by 1.4%.
Consulting Engineering Services Price Index
(See table 10)
2009 (preliminary data)
The Consulting Engineering Services Price Index (CESPI) is now available for 2009. The Consulting Engineering Services Price Index measures the change in the total price of engineering and consulting services, as well as changes in the wage rate and realized net multiplier components. Detailed indexes are available for fields of specialization and for regional, domestic and foreign markets.
The Canada total Consulting Engineering Services Price Index increased 0.4% in 2009 compared with 2008.
Infrastructure Construction Price Index
An analytical price index series measuring annual changes in the cost of municipal infrastructure construction funded by development charges has been developed by Statistics Canada on behalf of the City of Ottawa. The annual index for 2010 was 140.6 (2001 =100), an increase of 2.9% over the revised annual index of 136.7 for 2009. The indexes for 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2002 were 133.3, 125.0, 120.0, 113.1, 107.8, 104.8 and 102.3 respectively.
Note: In 2009, all indexes were revised back to 2001. Calendar year averages of each input index are now used in the calculations. Also, revisions were made in the selection of a small number of inputs in order to improve the quality of the index.
- Date modified: