Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Raw materials cheaper

Raw materials cost Canada’s manufacturers 7.4% less in February than they did in the same month a year earlier, the result of much lower prices for mineral fuels.

The cost of mineral fuels fell 14.4% from February 2003, which had a major impact on manufacturers. If mineral fuels had been excluded, the overall cost of raw materials would have declined only 0.9%.

Contributing to the decline were lower prices for animals and animal products, vegetable products and wood products.

On a monthly basis, raw materials prices were up 3.4% from January. The cost of mineral fuels, which rose 2.8%, was responsible for about half of the monthly increase. Crude oil prices rose 3.4% from January, as a result of tight supply and increased demand because of colder temperatures.

Manufacturers’ prices down

On the other hand, prices that manufacturers received as their goods left the plant gate declined 2.5% from February 2003, largely as a result of the effect of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar. It was the 11th consecutive year-over-year decline in manufacturers’ prices.

Without the impact of the exchange rate, manufacturers’ prices would have risen 1.1% rather than falling 2.5% from February 2003. Declining prices in the petroleum and coal products group continued to have a strong influence on the 12-month change.

On a monthly basis, manufacturers got 1.8% more for their goods in February than they did in January.

For more information, contact Danielle Gouin (613-951-3375), Prices Division.

  Print article

© 2004, Statistics Canada.