Wholesalers sold $53.1 billion worth of goods and services in August, up 0.2% from July and 6.0% higher than in August 2013. Excluding the automotive sector, wholesale sales were up 5.9% from August 2013.
In terms of volume, wholesale sales edged up 0.1% in August from July.
Annualized wholesale sales grew in all provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador (+14.1%) led the way, followed by Saskatchewan (+10.8%) and Nova Scotia (+8.8%). Quebec’s wholesale sales were up 1.2% from August 2013 while Ontario’s annualized increase was 7.2%.
Wholesalers’ inventories in August increased 0.2% from July to $66.8 billion, their highest level on record. They were up 8.1% from August 2013. Gains were recorded in all sectors. The largest monthly increase, in dollar terms, was accounted for by the machinery, equipment and supplies industry (+0.8%). Inventories in the building materials and supplies industry were unchanged in August from July. This followed five straight monthly gains. The inventory-to-sales ratio was 1.26 in August, unchanged from July. 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 $7.6 billion in August, unchanged from July, but an 8.8% increase from August 2013. Annualized sales have been up in every month so far this year. Inventories were valued at $11.8 billion, down 0.1% from July but 5.7% higher than in August 2013.
Wholesale sales of electrical, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning equipment and supplies stood at $2.4 billion in August, up 0.7% from July and 9.1% higher than in August 2013. Inventories were valued at $3.2 billion, down 0.1% from July but 5.6% higher than in August 2013.
Wholesale sales of metal service centres were $1.8 billion in August, up 0.3% from July and an increase of 12.4% from August 2013. Inventories were valued at $3.6 billion, up 0.9% from July and a 7.3% increase from August 2013.
Wholesale sales of lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies were $3.5 billion in August, down 0.7% from July but a 6.9% increase from August 2013. Inventories were valued at $5.1 billion, down 0.7% from July but a 4.7% increase over August 2013.