Wholesalers sold $53.0 billion worth of goods and services in June, up 0.6% from May and 8.7% higher than in June 2013. Excluding the automotive sector, wholesale sales were up 8.5% from June 2013.
In terms of volume, wholesale sales were up 0.7% in June from May.
Annualized wholesale sales grew in all provinces. Prince Edward Island (+16.1%) led the way, followed by Newfoundland and Labrador (+14.5%) and British Columbia (+12.0%). Quebec’s wholesale sales were up 3.4% from June 2013 while Ontario’s annualized increase was 10.0%.
Wholesalers’ inventories in June increased 1.0% from May to $65.9 billion and were up 5.8% from June 2013. Gains were recorded in six sectors, representing 83% of total wholesale inventories. The largest monthly increases, in dollar terms, was accounted for by the farm products industry (+12.7%). Inventories in the building materials and supplies industry grew 0.3% in June from May, their fourth straight monthly gain. The inventory-to-sales ratio was 1.24 in June, unchanged from May. 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 June, up 2.2% from May, and a 13.7% increase from June 2013. The $7.6 billion in total sales was the highest on record for the industry. Inventories were valued at $11.8 billion, up 0.3% from May and 2.0% higher than in June 2013.
Wholesale sales of electrical, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning equipment and supplies stood at $2.3 billion in June, up 1.3% from May and 9.9% higher than in June 2013. Inventories were valued at $3.2 billion, up 0.2% from May and 5.4% higher than in June 2013.
Wholesale sales of metal service centres were $1.7 billion in June, up 0.4% from May and an increase of 17.4% from June 2013. Inventories were valued at $3.5 billion, up 2.2% from May and a 3.8% increase from June 2013.
Wholesale sales of lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies were $3.6 billion in June, up 3.7% from May and a 14.6% increase from June 2013. Inventories were valued at $5.1 billion, down 0.9% from May and a 1.3% decrease over June 2013.