Wholesalers sold $54.7 billion worth of goods and services in October, down 0.6% from September but 1.6% higher than in October 2014. Excluding the automotive sector, wholesale sales were up 1.4% from October 2014.
In terms of volume, wholesale sales were down 0.6% in October from September.
Annualized wholesale sales grew in seven provinces. Nova Scotia (+5.5%) led the way, followed by Ontario (+5.0%) and Quebec (+2.4%). gain. Alberta experienced the largest loss (-12.1%).
Wholesalers’ inventories in October increased 0.5% from September to $73.2 billion. They were up 8.0% from October 2014. Gains were recorded in three of the seven sectors, representing 62.0% of total wholesale inventories. The largest monthly increase, in dollar terms, was accounted for by the motor vehicle and parts sector (+3.3%). The monthly decrease for the building materials and supplies industry was 1.4% and brought it to its lowest level in 15 months. The inventory-to-sales ratio was 1.34 in October, up from 1.32 in September. The ratio is a measure of the time in months required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current level.
Wholesale sales of building materials and supplies were $7.5 billion in October, down 0.3% from September and 2.7% lower than in October 2014. Inventories were valued at $12.0 billion, down 1.4% from September and 3.2% lower than in October 2014.
Wholesale sales of electrical, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning equipment and supplies stood at $2.4 billion in October, up 0.4% from September but 2.6% lower than in October 2014. Inventories were valued at $3.2 billion, down 1.3% from September but 2.8% higher than in October 2014.
Wholesale sales of metal service centres were $1.4 billion in October, down 1.5% from September and a decrease of 19.2% from October 2014. Inventories were valued at $3.3 billion, down 3.2% from September and a 13.9% decrease from October 2014.
Wholesale sales of lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies were $3.8 billion in October, down 0.2% from September but a 5.3% increase from October 2014. Inventories were valued at $5.5 billion, down 0.3% from September but a 0.7% increase over October 2014.