Wholesalers sold $50.4 billion worth of goods and services in November, unchanged from, October and 2.3% higher than in November 2012. Excluding the automotive sector, wholesale sales were up 1.9% from November 2012.
In terms of volume, wholesale sales were down 0.1% in November from October .
Annualized wholesale sales grew in six provinces. Saskatchewan (+16.8%) led the way, followed by Prince Edward Island (+9.5%). Ontario’s wholesale sales in November were up (+2.8%) from a year earlier while Quebec’s wholesale sales fell by 0.3% from November 2012.
Wholesalers’ inventories in November decreased 0.3% from October to $61.5 billion but were up 0.8% from November 2012. The largest monthly decrease, in dollar terms, was accounted for by the building materials and supply industry (-0.9%) and the food, beverage and tobacco industry (-1.4%). The inventory-to-sales ratio was 1.22 in November, unchanged from October.
Wholesale sales of building materials and supplies were $7.0 billion in November, down 1.2% from October but a 1.3% gain from November 2012. Inventories were valued at $11.2 billion, down 0.9% from October and a 1.7% drop from November 2012.
Wholesale sales of electrical, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning equipment and supplies stood at $2.2 billion in November, up 2.6% from October and a 4.6% increase from November 2012. Inventories were valued at $3.0 billion, up 0.9% from October but 3.8% lower than in November 2012.
Wholesale sales of metal service centres were $1.6 billion in November, down 0.5% from October but an increase of 2.5% from November 2012. Inventories were valued at $3.4 billion, down 2.5% from October and a 1.9% decrease from November 2012.
Wholesale sales of lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies were $3.2 billion in November, down 4.0% from October and a 1.4% decrease from November 2012. Inventories were valued at $4.8 billion, down 0.8% from October and a 0.1% decrease over November 2012.