Wholesalers sold $52.6 billion worth of goods and services in May, up 2.2% from April and 5.4% higher than in May 2013. Excluding the automotive sector, wholesale sales were up 4.5% from May 2013.
In terms of volume, wholesale sales were up 2.2% in May from April.
Annualized wholesale sales grew in nine provinces. British Columbia (+11.2%) led the way, followed by Manitoba (+7.2%) and Nova Scotia (+6.8%). The only decrease occurred in Newfoundland and Labrador (-0.9%). Quebec’s wholesale sales were up 1.6% from May 2013 while Ontario’s annualized increase was 5.9%.
Wholesalers’ inventories in May increased 0.2% from April to $65.2 billion and were up 5.4% from May 2013. The largest monthly increases, in dollar terms, was accounted for by the machinery, equipment and supplies industry (+0.5%), the fifth monthly increase in the past six months for that sector. Inventories in the building materials and supplies industry grew 0.6% in May from April, their third straight monthly gain. The inventory-to-sales ratio was 1.24 in May, down from 1.27 in April. 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 $7.4 billion in May, unchanged from April, and a 6.1% increase from May 2013. The $7.4 billion in total sales was the highest on record for the industry. Inventories were valued at $11.7 billion, up 0.6% from April and 2.1% higher than in May 2013.
Wholesale sales of electrical, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning equipment and supplies stood at $2.2 billion in May, down 1.9% from April but 2.0% higher than in May 2013. Inventories were valued at $3.2 billion, up 1.9% from April and 2.9% higher than in May 2013.
Wholesale sales of metal service centres were $1.7 billion in May, up 2.2% from April and an increase of 11.9% from May 2013. Inventories were valued at $3.4 billion, up 1.6% from April and also a 1.6% increase from May 2013.
Wholesale sales of lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies were $3.5 billion in May, up 0.2% from April and a 6.2% increase from May 2013. Inventories were valued at $5.1 billion, down 0.8% from April but a 1.9% increase over May 2013.