Wholesalers sold $54.2 billion worth of goods and services in October, up 0.1% from September and 7.5% higher than in October 2013. Excluding the automotive sector, wholesale sales were up 7.4% from October 2013.
In terms of volume, wholesale sales were down 0.1% in October from September.
Annualized wholesale sales grew in all provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador (+23.8%) led the way, followed by Saskatchewan (+12.1%) and Manitoba (+11.2%). Quebec’s wholesale sales were up 1.9% from October 2013 while Ontario’s annualized gain was 9.4%.
Wholesalers’ inventories in October increased 1.2% from September to $68.2 billion, their tenth consecutive monthly gain and their highest level on record. They were up 10.6% from October 2013. Gains were recorded in six of the seven sectors. The largest monthly increase, in dollar terms, was accounted for by the building materials and supplies industry (+2.6%), following a 0.8% growth rate in September from August. The inventory-to-sales ratio was 1.26 in October, up from 1.25 in September. 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 $8.1 billion in October, up 0.4% from September and a 14.3% increase from October 2013. Annualized sales have been up in every month so far this year. Inventories were valued at $12.3 billion, up 2.6% from September and 10.0% higher than in October 2013.
Wholesale sales of electrical, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning equipment and supplies stood at $2.7 billion in October, up 1.9% from September and 25.0% higher than in October 2013. Inventories were valued at $3.2 billion, up 0.4% from September and 7.3% higher than in October 2013.
Wholesale sales of metal service centres were $1.8 billion in October, up 2.3% from September and an increase of 12.9% from October 2013. Inventories were valued at $3.7 billion, up 1.8% from September and a 13.9% increase from October 2013.
Wholesale sales of lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies were $3.6 billion in October, down 1.6% from September but an 8.1% increase from October 2013. Inventories were valued at $5.3 billion, up 4.7% from September and a 9.1% increase over October 2013.