Statistics Canada reported on October 22 that its Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), which tracks prices received by producers as Canadian-made goods leave the factory, rose 2.0% month over month and 14.5% year over year in September 2026. The Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI), which tracks inputs purchased by Canadian manufacturers, increased 4.8% in the month and 27.0% over a year. The indexes cover different price stages and are not direct measures of consumer price inflation.

Energy and petroleum products within the IPPI rose 12.1% in September and made the largest contribution to the monthly increase. Refined petroleum products rose 13.7%; diesel gained 18.4%, light fuel oils 15.4% and finished gasoline 7.8%. Excluding energy and petroleum, the IPPI edged up 0.3%. Chemical products rose 3.8%; dyes, pigments and petrochemicals gained 9.7%, while plastic resins rose 11.0%. The breakdown shows energy drove the broad producer-price increase, although individual manufacturers face different input mixes.

The IPPI’s year-over-year rise marked its 24th consecutive monthly increase. Diesel prices were up 106.1% over a year, light fuel oils 99.4% and finished gasoline 45.3%. Among metals, unwrought copper and copper alloys rose 46.3%, unwrought aluminum and alloys 26.9%, and unwrought gold, silver and platinum-group metals 31.9%. These are changes in index subgroups, not spot-market quotations or retail prices.

Crude energy products led the RMPI’s monthly advance, rising 14.4%; conventional crude oil increased 16.8% and synthetic crude oil 9.0%. Excluding crude energy, the RMPI fell 0.4%. Metal ores, concentrates and scrap declined 0.7%, crop products rose 2.1% and canola prices gained 3.7%; animal products fell 1.1%. The RMPI was 27.0% higher year over year, or 13.8% higher excluding crude energy.

Both indexes are national and unadjusted for seasonal effects. The IPPI measures producer prices at the factory gate, excluding consumer-stage transportation, wholesale and retail costs as well as indirect taxes. The RMPI measures what manufacturers pay to bring raw materials to their establishments, including transportation and certain taxes and duties. Statistics Canada said the September reference month began a staged transition to a new sample, scheduled to be complete by December 2026. Indexes based on the old sample will not be revised using data from the new sample.

Statistics Canada’s survey description explains that the IPPI tracks prices for products sold by Canadian manufacturers, while the RMPI tracks prices paid for raw materials purchased for further processing. It says the two indexes draw on price movements for about 6,000 products. This distinction helps interpret September’s sharp movements: an IPPI rise can indicate higher factory-gate receipts for producers, whereas an RMPI rise captures input-price pressure for manufacturers. Neither index directly measures the price paid by a household in a store, and neither can be substituted for the Consumer Price Index. The agency also notes that firms use the measures for contract escalation and industry analysis, while Statistics Canada uses them to deflate nominal manufacturing values when estimating real growth and productivity.

The previous monthly release shows why the September jump should be read as a new movement rather than a straight-line trend. For August, the RMPI fell 2.2% month over month, with crude energy products and metal ores among the contributors to the decline; the index excluding crude energy fell 1.5%. By September, the RMPI had risen 4.8%, while the non-energy measure edged down 0.4%. This swing is consistent with the large contribution of crude oil in September, but it also illustrates how volatile energy can shift the headline index. The comparison is between successive national index releases and does not isolate a structural shift in manufacturers’ costs. The new-sample transition noted in September further means users should follow Statistics Canada’s methodological notes when comparing observations.