August 2007

Source: Statistics Canada

Wholesale sales in Canada grew only slightly in June (+0.2%), as increased sales of other products” were largely offset by a decrease in the automotive sector. Excluding the automotive sector, sales grew&nbsp ; 0.6%.
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Wholesale sales for the second quarter were down for the first time in nearly four years. This contraction was largely attributable to the automotive sector.

In June, increases were observed in the “other products” sector (+2.8%), the machinery and electronic equipment sector (+1.0%) and the farm products sector (+6.0%). These advances, however, were partially offset by contractions in the automotive sector (-1.6%) and the personal and household goods sector (-0.8%).

In constant prices, …

Source: Statistics Canada
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Manufacturing shipments in Canada tumbled in June, falling&nbsp ; 1.8% to&nbsp ; $48.6&nbsp ; billion. This was the largest decrease since January and the third consecutive monthly decline.

Despite these decreases, second-quarter shipments still managed to gain&nbsp ; 0.7% compared with the first quarter of&nbsp ; 2007. This was due to high shipment levels at the start of the second quarter after a particularly strong March. Examining the first six months of this year, manufacturing shipments were up&nbsp ; 0.1% compared with the first six months of&nbsp ; 2006.
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Using constant dollars, which take price fluctuations into account, the volume of manufacturing shipments decreased&nbsp ; 1.7% in June to&nbsp ; …

In the face of continuing weakness in the housing sector, growth in the U.S. economy is expected to be slower than previously anticipated, according to a new Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI quarterly report.

The Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI Quarterly Economic Forecast predicts that inflation-adjusted GDP growth, 3.3 percent in 2006, will slow to 1.9 percent in 2007 before regaining some strength, rising to 2.5 percent in 2008.

The most recent forecast represents a pullback from the May 2007 report, when MAPI envisioned GDP to grow by 2.3 percent in 2007 and by 3.0 percent in 2008. By supplying major assumptions for the economy and running simulations through the Global Insight Macroeconomic Model, the Alliance generates unique macroeconomic and industry forecasts.

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Industrial production rose 0.3 percent in July after an increase of 0.6 percent in June. At 113.9 percent of its 2002 average, total industrial production in July was 1.4 percent above its year-earlier level. In July, manufacturing output moved up 0.6 percent and mining output advanced 0.7 percent, but the output of utilities fell 2.1 percent.

Capacity utilization for total industry edged up to 81.9 percent, a rate 0.5 percentage point below the level in July 2006 but 0.9 percentage point above its 1972-2006 average.

Full industrial production/capacity utilization details

Wholesale prices advanced 0.6% in July, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. This increase followed a 0.2% decline in June and a 0.9% rise in May.

At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods rose 0.6% in July compared with a 0.5% gain in June, and the index for crude materials climbed 1.2% subsequent to a 0.3% increase a month earlier.
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Among prices for finished goods, the index for energy goods rose 2.5% in July following a 1.1% decrease in June. Prices for finished consumer foods inched down 0.1% after declining 0.8% in the previous month. By contrast, slightly counteracting the upturn in finished goods prices, the increase in the index for finished …