Study: The Year in Review for Wholesale Trade, 2007

(Statistics Canada)

The wholesale trade sector expanded for a fourth consecutive year in 2007.Wholesale sales amounted to $517.8 billion in 2007, up 5.5% from 2006, a slightly faster pace than the growth the year before. It was the fourth year in a row that the rate of growth surpassed 5.0%, according to a year-end review published today in the Analysis in Brief series.

Provincially, the rate of growth accelerated in Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Manitoba. Sales in Saskatchewan rose 19.6%, the fastest rate of growth since the start of this statistical series in 1993 and the best performance among the provinces.

Alberta wholesalers had a growth rate below the national average for the first time since 2002.

While slightly higher than 2006 levels, the rate of growth for wholesalers in Ontario was below the national average for the fifth consecutive year. As a result, Ontario’s share of national sales continued to slide, although it still represented just over half of the total.

Quebec wholesalers experienced a slight recovery in 2007, with the pharmaceuticals trade group still the main source of growth.

Nationally, this performance in 2007 was due, among other factors, to the “other products” sector, which posted the strongest growth in wholesale trade and had its best performance since 2003. Sales in this sector grew partly because of increased sales of agricultural chemicals and other farm supplies, as well as sales of animal feed.

This study reviews the performance of the wholesale trade sector nationally and regionally, along with some of the key factors affecting last year’s performance. The report is available on Statistics Canada website.