Wholesale Trade: July

(Statistics Canada)

Wholesale sales rose 2.3% in July to $46.2 billion as increases across a number of sectors contributed to a fifth consecutive monthly gain. Price effects were minimal in July, as sales in volume terms rose 2.2%.

July’s gains were spread across six of the seven wholesale sectors, with food, beverages and tobacco products the only sector reporting lower sales.

The largest contribution came from the "other products" sector, which rebounded from a 3.4% drop in June to post a 6.0% rise in July. Sales in this sector have increased significantly over the past year, mostly as a result of higher global demand for agricultural supplies. Exports of fertilizers and fertilizer material rose by more than 30% in July and have more than doubled over the past year.

The building materials sector also made a significant contribution (+4.8%) to July’s increase, as all three components of this sector reported higher sales. Wholesalers of metal products registered the largest increase, gaining 10.8% in July after a 7.9% rise in June. The value of metal products sales has risen sharply since the end of 2007, mostly due to higher world prices.
The other increase (+3.1%) of note was observed in the machinery and electronic equipment sector and was largely the result of higher sales (+5.1%) in the machinery and equipment trade group, which accounts for half of all sales in this sector. This was the seventh consecutive rise for this trade group, which in recent months has benefited from strong demand for agricultural machinery as well as sales to the oil and gas sector.

Overall, six provinces reported higher sales in July. Summary statistics and a link to the data set are on the Statistics Canada website.