Wholesalers sold $53.7 billion worth of goods and services in January, down 3.1% from December but 7.1% higher than in January 2014. This was the largest month-over-month decline since January 2009. Excluding the automotive sector, wholesale sales were up 6.6% from January 2014.
In terms of volume, wholesale sales were down 3.3% in January from December.
Annualized wholesale sales grew in all provinces. Saskatchewan (+15.0%) led the way, followed by Ontario (+8.4%) and Manitoba (+8.3%). Quebec’s wholesale sales were up 4.0% from January 2014.
Wholesalers’ inventories in January increased 1.3% from December to $70.2 billion, their 13th consecutive monthly gain and their highest level on record. They were up 12.6% from January 2014. Gains were recorded in six of the seven sectors. The largest monthly increase, in dollar terms, was accounted for by the machinery, equipment and supplies sector (+2.0%). The monthly inventory increase for the building materials and supplies industry was +0.6%. The inventory-to-sales ratio was 1.31 in January, up from 1.25 in December. This was the highest ratio since June 2009 when it was 1.34. 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 $7.7 billion in January, down 5.3% from December but a 9.3% increase from January 2013. Annualized sales have been up for 13 consecutive months. Inventories were valued at $12.8 billion, up 0.6% from December and 12.5% higher than in January 2014.
Wholesale sales of electrical, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning equipment and supplies stood at $2.5 billion in January, down 9.8% from December but 15.1% higher than in January 2014. Inventories were valued at $3.3 billion, up 1.3% from December and 8.2% higher than in January 2014.
Wholesale sales of metal service centres were $1.6 billion in January, down 3.9% from December but an increase of 3.8% from January 2014. Inventories were valued at $3.9 billion, unchanged from December and a 20.6% increase from January 2013.
Wholesale sales of lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies were $3.6 billion in January, down 2.6% from December but an 8.2% increase from January 2014. Inventories were valued at $5.6 billion, up 0.7% from December and a 9.9% increase over January 2014.