On Friday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that the prices of products manufactured in Canada, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), were unchanged month-over-month in May but were up 1.8% year-over-year.

In May, the IPPI for lumber and other wood products declined 4.9% from April. Lower prices for softwood lumber, down 10.2%, drove the month-over-month decline. This is the largest monthly decrease in softwood lumber prices since June 2023, when they declined 29.4%. Lumber demand was soft in May amid continued housing affordability challenges, StatCan said. Despite recent operational curtailments at sawmills, the low demand has resulted in sawmills accepting lower prices for their lumber.

Prices of raw materials purchased by manufacturers operating in Canada, as measured by the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI), declined 1.0% month-over-month in May but increased 7.6% year-over-year

Canadian May producer price index data

- Prior month 1.5% revised to 1.4%
- Producer Prices MoM 0.0% vs 0.5% estimate
- Producer prices YoY 1.8 % vs 1.4% last month revised to 1.3%. This was the biggest year on year increase since January 2023.
- Raw material prices MoM -1.0% vs 5.5% last month revised to 5.3%. Excluding accrued energy products, the RMPI rose 2.4%
- Raw material prices YoY 7.6% vs 3.1% last month revised to 2.9%

Source:  StatCan