January 17, 2008

Industrial production was unchanged in December.
 
For the fourth quarter, output fell 1% (annual rate), the first quarterly decrease since the fourth quarter of 2006. At 114% of its 2002 average, total industrial production in December was 1.5% above its year-earlier level.
 
Output in the manufacturing sector was unchanged in December. The output of utilities decreased 0.2% in December as a result of a decline at gas utilities; the output at mines edged up 0.1% after an increase of 1% in November.
 
Capacity utilization for total industry posted a small decrease in December, to 81.4%, a rate slightly below its year-earlier level but 0.4 percentage point above its 1972-2006 …

The Canadian economy is firing on all cylinders except one,”with manufacturing in the midst of a year-long recession, according to a new Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI report, available at www.mapi.net.

In “Review of the Canadian Economy, 2007-2008,” Jeremy A. Leonard, MAPI economic consultant, writes that the Canadian economy is growing at or above potential, and labor markets are as tight as they have been in a generation. However, manufacturing is suffering from the rapidly strengthening Canadian dollar and slower-than-expected growth in the U.S.

Real gross domestic product grew by 2.9 percent at an annualized rate in the third quarter 2007 but is expected to decelerate to the 2-percent range before …