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Economic activity continued its seesaw pattern of recent months, as real gross domestic product edged down 0.1% in May after rising 0.4% in April. There was a significant decrease in the energy sector in May. Declines were also recorded in finance, forestry, construction and wholesale trade. Conversely, manufacturing, retail trade and the public sector advanced.
Energy sector output falls
The energy sector output fell 0.9% in May. Natural gas extraction dropped, but crude oil extraction rose moderately.
The weakness in oil and gas output since the middle of 2007 has been attributable to a decrease in the production of natural gas and, to a lesser extent, to a reduced production of crude petroleum. High levels of natural gas inventories in Canada led producers to lower their output, while production difficulties affected oil extraction on several occasions.
Beginning in January 2008, natural gas inventories started to return to more normal levels while exports of natural gas and crude petroleum lost momentum.
Contract drilling was down in May, mainly as a result of the unusually wet weather which prolonged the spring ice break-up by two weeks. Moreover, electricity generation fell 1.5%, as a larger portion of the demand was satisfied through imports.
Note to readersThe 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 estimates 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 2004 period, the monthly estimates are benchmarked to annually chained Fisher volume indexes of GDP obtained from the constant-price input-output tables. For the period starting with January 2005, the estimates 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 2004. This makes the monthly GDP by industry estimates 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 2007. For more information about monthly GDP by industry, see the National economic accounts module on our website (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/nea). |
The output of the mining sector, excluding oil and gas, fell 1.4% in May. Non-metal mines (which include diamonds and potash) recorded a significant drop, while the metal ore mines moved ahead slightly.
The finance and insurance sector drops
The finance and insurance sector retreated as a result of a reduced level of activity in banking services and on the financial markets, while the issuance of new Canadian stocks and bonds was strong.
Construction activity decreases
The construction sector fell for a third consecutive month, down 0.4% in May. All three components (residential buildings, non-residential buildings, and engineering and repair work) declined.
The increases in apartment and row house construction were not enough to offset the declines in single-family and semi-detached homes construction and in alterations and improvements work. In the non-residential sector, the drop in industrial building construction was only partially offset by the increases in commercial and public buildings.
Activities of real estate agents and brokers declined for a sixth consecutive month, due to lower sales of existing homes in most provinces.
Wholesale trade retreats
Value added in wholesale trade edged down 0.3% in May. Notable declines were recorded in the volume of wholesaling of building materials and automotive products. Wholesaling of petroleum products also dropped. However, significant increases were posted in home and personal products, and other products (which primarily include agricultural, chemical, recycled material and paper products).
Manufacturing activity up slightly
Manufacturing production edged up 0.1% in May, on the heels of a partial rebound in April. The gain in non-durable manufacturing slightly outpaced the decline in durable manufacturing. Printing and related support activities, and computer and electronic product manufacturing, made significant advances. Manufacturing of machinery equipment for mining and oil and gas extraction posted a third consecutive monthly increase. Conversely, motor vehicle and associated parts production fell by 3.6% in May, following an April increase. Manufacturing of clothing, and of plastics and rubber products continued to fall.
Manufacturing of petroleum and coal products increased significantly for a second consecutive month, returning to a more normal level of production, following the completion of maintenance and repairs by some refineries in April.
Retail trade advances
Value added in the retail trade sector grew 0.1% in May. There were notable increases in the volume of activities at new and used cars dealers as well as in home centres and hardware stores. In contrast, the volume of sales by food and beverage stores was down.
Other industries
The accommodation services industry retreated by 0.3% for the month. The decline in the number of overnight travellers from the United States was the primary cause behind the decrease.
The forestry industry posted a 6.2% decline in May. This industry continues to suffer from weak US demand and a strong Canadian dollar.
Available on CANSIM: table 379-0027.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 1301.
The May 2008 issue of Gross Domestic Product by Industry, Vol. 22, no. 5 (15-001-XWE, free), is now available from the Publications module of our website.
Data on gross domestic product by industry for June will be released on August 29.
For general information or to order data, contact the 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.
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