Wholesalers sold $54.5 billion worth of goods and services in May, down 1.0% from April but 2.9% higher than in May 2014. Excluding the automotive sector, wholesale sales were up 3.1% from May 2014.
In terms of volume, wholesale sales were down 1.0% in May from April.
Annualized wholesale sales grew in eight provinces. Saskatchewan (+9.8%) led the way, followed by Prince Edward Island (+9.4%) and Ontario (+5.6%). Quebec’s wholesale sales were up 0.7% from May 2014. Alberta (-4.2%) and Nova Scotia (-0.9%) were the two provinces to experience losses.
Wholesalers’ inventories in May increased 0.1% from April to $71.7 billion, their 17th consecutive monthly gain and their highest level on record. They were up 10.0% from May 2014. Gains were recorded in all of the seven sectors. The largest monthly increase, in dollar terms, was accounted for by the personal and household goods sector (+2.0%). The monthly decrease for the building materials and supplies industry was 0.5% and was the first monthly decrease in 15 months for the sector. The inventory-to-sales ratio was 1.32 in May, up from 1.30 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 $7.6 billion in May, unchanged from April and a 1.5% increase from May 2014. Annualized sales have been up for 17 consecutive months. Inventories were valued at $12.9 billion, down 0.5% from April but 9.8% higher than in May 2014.
Wholesale sales of electrical, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning equipment and supplies stood at $2.4 billion in May, down 1.8% from April but 4.2% higher than in May 2014. Inventories were valued at $3.4 billion, down 0.6% from April but 10.0% higher than in May 2014.
Wholesale sales of metal service centres were $1.5 billion in May, down 3.4% from April and a decrease of 12.1% from May 2014. Inventories were valued at $3.7 billion, down 0.6% from April but a 10.2% increase from May 2014.
Wholesale sales of lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies were $3.7 billion in May, up 2.6% from April and a 6.3% increase from May 2014. Inventories were valued at $5.7 billion, down 0.5% from April and a 9.5% increase over May 2014.