Wholesalers sold $49.1 billion worth of goods and services in March, up 0.3% from February and 1.0% higher than in March 2012. Excluding the automotive sector, wholesale sales were up 0.6% from March 2012.
In terms of volume, wholesale sales were up 0.1% in March from February. Since May 2012, national wholesale sales have been relatively flat.
Annualized wholesale sales grew in seven provinces. Saskatchewan (+17.5%) led the way, followed by Prince Edward Island (+11.7%) and British Columbia (+7.4%). Quebec recorded a 1.7% sales gain over March 2012. New Brunswick (-4.9%). Ontario (-2.0%) and Nova Scotia (-0.3%) experienced year-over-year loses.
Wholesalers’ inventories in March increased 0.1% from February to $61.8 billion and were up 3.9% from March 2012. The monthly increases, in dollar terms, were totally accounted for by the motor vehicle industry (+1.1%) and the building materials and supplies industry (+0.5%). The inventory-to-sales ratio in March was unchanged from February at 1.26.
Wholesale sales of building materials and supplies were $7.0 billion in March, up 0.6% from February and a 3.5% gain from March 2012. This was the 27th consecutive annualized increase. Inventories were valued at $11.6 billion, up 0.5% from February and a 6.7% gain from March 2012.
Wholesale sales of electrical, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning equipment and supplies stood at $2.2 billion in March, up 1.5% from February but a 0.4% decrease from March 2012. Inventories were valued at $3.2 billion, up 1.0% from February and 3.6% higher than in March 2012.
Wholesale sales of metal service centres were $1.5 billion in March, up 0.2% from February but a decrease of 0.5% from March 2012. Inventories were valued at $3.4 billion, down 1.1% from February but a 3.0% increase from March 2012.
Wholesale sales of lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies were $3.3 billion in March, up 0.2% from February and an 8.4% increase from March 2012. Inventories were valued at $5.0 billion, up 1.3% from February and an 11.5% increase over March 2012.