Canada's economy in August continued to follow the zig-zag pattern that has become the norm for much of the last year, with gross domestic product falling 0.3 per cent.

Since December 2007, the economy has tracked along peaks and valleys, with almost month-by-month increases and declines, Statistics Canada reports.

The August drop partly reversed the 0.7 per cent gain that was made in July.

When broken down by industry, the report shows transport industries including the rail and truck transportation sectors saw declines. But accommodation and food services, along with the public sector, saw growth.

The finance, insurance and retail trade sectors saw no change in August.

In the energy and mining sector, output sunk 0.5 per cent after a strong gain of 2.7 per cent in July -- that energy sector strength had been responsible for much of the total economic gains made in Canada's economy that month.

The output of Canada's refineries also dropped, falling 4.5 per cent, partly due to two major production disruptions.

After seeing increases in July, trade in wholesale products fell 3.1 per cent in August, StatsCan reports. The decrease was largely driven by losses in the automotive sector which dragged the wholesale output numbers downward.

Wholesaling of building materials and household goods also saw declines.

Following are some key details from the StatsCan report on August GDP:

• manufacturing saw declines of 1.1 per cent
• construction saw declines of 0.3 per cent
• activity among real-estate agents and brokers declined of 2.9 per cent
• retail trade remains stable
• finance and insurance sector was unchanged
• arts and entertainment dropped 0.7 per cent
• accommodation and food services saw gains of 0.8 per cent

The economic slip shouldn't come as a surprise and is likely the first in a series of stutters as Canada's economy slows pace along with the rest of the world, suggested BMO Capital Markets economist Douglas Porter.

"This result simply unwinds part of July's surprising strength, and would normally be seen as no big deal," Porter told The Canadian Press.

"However, given the marked deterioration in the economic outlook since that time, it unfortunately will look like a loud early warning shot."

Porter also pointed out that the StatsCan numbers are for August -- prior to the global economic slowdown that began in mid-September and has caused governments around the world to take steps to try and protect their economies.