Retail Trade, September 2013, published November 22
Retail sales in September 2013 were $40.7 billion, an increase of 1.0% from August and up 3.6% from September 2012. This was the third consecutive monthly gain. Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers and by gasoline stations, retail sales were up by 1.8% from September 2012. Retail sales in volume terms were up 1.0% from August. Increases in month-over-month sales were reported in 6 of 11 sectors representing 55% of total retail sales. Total retail sales for the first nine months of 2013 were $359.3 billion, up 2.2% over the same period last year. Sales in the building...
Read MoreWholesale Trade, August 2013, published October 21
Wholesalers sold $49.8 billion worth of goods and services in August, up 0.5% from July and 1.3% higher than in August 2012. Excluding the automotive sector, wholesale sales were up 1.6% from August 2012. In terms of volume, wholesale sales were up 0.3% in August from July. Annualized wholesale sales grew in six provinces. British Columbia (+5.6%) led the way, followed by Manitoba (+3.7%) and New Brunswick (+3.3%). The losses occurred in Nova Scotia (-4.0%) followed by Prince Edward Island (-1.1%) and Quebec (-1.0%) Ontario’s wholesale sales in August were up (+1.4%) from a...
Read MoreOPP Issues FRAUD ALERT to Building Materials Retailers
Since December of 2012 several East Region OPP detachments have documented fraud complaints where a Montreal sourced group places orders for construction material by phone using fraudulent credit card data. Materials sought have been mostly plywood but a similar pattern was observed involving thermostats and other construction material. Generally the orders for these supplies exceed $5000 in value each time but not always. Big box stores as well as private lumber yards have fallen victim to this ploy. A review of investigations for this period has identified similar incidents in...
Read MoreLabour Force Survey, August 2013, published September 6
Employment in August was up 0.3% from July. The unemployment rate was down from July at 7.1%. Construction employment grew by 1.3% from July while manufacturing employment increased 0.3% from a month earlier. In August, employment stood at 17.7 million, up 1.4% from August 2012. Full-time employment grew by 17,400 from July, while part-time employment increased by 41,800 from the previous month. Full-time employment was up by 175,600 from August 2012, while part-time increased by 70,600 over the same period. Employment over the past year grew in seven provinces, led by Alberta (+3.6%), ...
Read MoreTIM-BR MART Group Provides Update on Review of Operations and Change of Leadership
August 30, 2013 (Calgary, AB) – TIM-BR MART Group (“the Company”), in keeping with its goal of managing the business with vision, discipline, structure and strong corporate governance, earlier this month retained outside advisers to conduct an independent review of operations. That review has identified isolated instances of failure to adhere to corporate reporting structure and corporate governance. As a consequence, President and CEO Tim Urquhart has accepted the Company’s request for his resignation, which is effective immediately. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer...
Read More