October 2008

Source: Statistics Canada
 
Canadian manufacturers had a notable pull-back in sales in August following four consecutive monthly increases. Sales decreased 3.7% to $52.0 billion, erasing most of the gains from the previous two months. The largest contributor to the decrease was the petroleum and coal products industry, where sales have fallen by nearly one billion dollars in two months.
 
Manufacturing sales measured in constant dollars, which provide an indicator of volume, decreased for the first time in five months. Constant dollar sales fell 3.7% in August to $46.3 billion. August’s decrease erased all of the gains since December 2007, moving constant dollar sales to the lowest level in eight months.
 
Overall, …

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods decreased 0.4% in September, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. This decline followed a 0.9-percent drop in August and a 1.2-percent increase in July. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by producers of intermediate goods fell 1.2% after decreasing 1.0% a month earlier, and the decline in the crude goods index slowed to 7.9% in September from 11.9% in the preceding month.
 
The slower rate of decline in finished goods prices was led by the index for energy goods, which decreased 2.9% after falling 4.6% in August. Price advances for finished goods less foods and energy accelerated to 0.4% from 0.2% a month earlier. Conversely, the rise in the index for finished …