Wholesalers sold $49.8 billion worth of goods and services in August, up 0.5% from July and 1.3% higher than in August 2012. Excluding the automotive sector, wholesale sales were up 1.6% from August 2012.
In terms of volume, wholesale sales were up 0.3% in August from July.
Annualized wholesale sales grew in six provinces. British Columbia (+5.6%) led the way, followed by Manitoba (+3.7%) and New Brunswick (+3.3%). The losses occurred in Nova Scotia (-4.0%) followed by Prince Edward Island (-1.1%) and Quebec (-1.0%) Ontario’s wholesale sales in August were up (+1.4%) from a year earlier.
Wholesalers’ inventories in August decreased 0.5% from July to $61.9 billion but were up 1.2% from August 2012. The largest annualized increases, in dollar terms, were accounted for by the farm products industry (+11.7%) and the personal and household goods industry (+4.4%). The inventory-to-sales ratio was down from 1.26 in July to 1.24 in August.
Wholesale sales of building materials and supplies were $7.1 billion in August, up 0.1% from July and a 3.3% gain from August 2012. Inventories were valued at $11.4 billion, down 2.1% from July and a 0.2% gain from August 2012.
Wholesale sales of electrical, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning equipment and supplies stood at $2.2 billion in August, down 0.6% from July but a 0.4% increase from August 2012. Inventories were valued at $3.0 billion, down 2.6% from July and 6.3% lower than in August 2012.
Wholesale sales of metal service centres were $1.6 billion in August, up 2.1% from July and an increase of 5.6% from August 2012. Inventories were valued at $3.6 billion, up 3.4% from July and a 6.0% increase from August 2012.
Wholesale sales of lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies were $3.3 billion in August, down 0.4% from July and a 4.2% increase from August 2012. Inventories were valued at $4.8 billion, down 5.5% from July but a 0.4% increase over August 2012.