September 2008

Source: Statistics Canada

In August, Canadian price indexes for manufactured goods and raw materials declined 0.2% and 7.7% respectively from July. The strong decrease in prices for petroleum products brought to a halt the uninterrupted monthly growth observed since the end of 2007.
 
The monthly decline of 0.2% in the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) in August was largely attributable to a 6.0% drop in prices for petroleum and coal products. Excluding petroleum and coal products, the prices of other industrial goods increased 0.8%, a rate of growth comparable to the average rate recorded in the previous two months.
 
Also contributing to the decline in August was a 3.1% drop in prices for primary metal …

New orders for manufactured durable goods in August decreased $9.9 billion or 4.5% to $208.5 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced . This was the largest percentage decrease in new orders since January 2008 and followed three consecutive monthly increases including a 0.8% July increase. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 3%. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 5.0%.
 
Shipments
Shipments of manufactured durable goods in August, down following two consecutive monthly increases, decreased $7.7 billion or 3.5% to $210.1 billion. This was the largest% decrease in shipments since December 2002 and followed a 2.3% July increase.
 
Unfilled Orders
Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in August, up thirty of the last …

Real gross domestic product -the output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the U.S. -increased at an annual rate of 2.8% in the second quarter of 2008, (that is, from the first quarter to the second quarter), according to final estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP increased 0.9%.
 
The GDP estimates are based on more complete source data than were available for the preliminary estimates issued last month. In the preliminary estimates, the increase in real GDP was 3.3%.
 
The increase in real GDP in the second quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from exports, personal consumption expenditures (PCE), nonresidential structures, federal government spending, and state and local …