Wholesalers sold $55.4 billion worth of goods and services in July, unchanged from June and 4.2% higher than in July 2014. Excluding the automotive sector, wholesale sales were up 3.7% from July 2014.
In terms of volume, wholesale sales were down 0.4% in July from June.
Annualized wholesale sales grew in nine provinces. Prince Edward Island (+9.3%) led the way, followed by Ontario (+8.2%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+6.4%). Quebec’s wholesale sales were up 2.7% from July 2014. Alberta (-6.8%) was the only province to experience a loss.
Wholesalers’ inventories in July increased 0.6% from June to $72.9 billion, their 19th consecutive monthly gain and their highest level on record. They were up 9.0% from July 2014. Gains were recorded in six of the seven sectors, representing 83.0% of wholesale inventories. The largest monthly increase, in dollar terms, was accounted for by the machinery, equipment and supplies sector (+0.9%). The monthly decrease for the building materials and supplies industry was 1.9% and was the fourth consecutive monthly decline for the sector. The inventory-to-sales ratio was 1.32 in July, up from 1.31 in June. The ratio is a measure of the time in months required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current level.
Wholesale sales of building materials and supplies were $7.6 billion in July, down 0.5% from June but unchanged from July 2014. Inventories were valued at $12.5 billion, down 1.9% from June but 4.1% higher than in July 2014.
Wholesale sales of electrical, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning equipment and supplies stood at $2.4 billion in July, down 2.3% from June but 0.8% higher than in July 2014. Inventories were valued at $3.3 billion, down 2.7% from June but 6.8% higher than in July 2014.
Wholesale sales of metal service centres were $1.6 billion in July, up 2.3% from June but a decrease of 9.7% from July 2014. Inventories were valued at $3.5 billion, down 2.6% from June and a 1.0% decrease from July 2014.
Wholesale sales of lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies were $3.7 billion in July, down 0.5% from June but a 4.2% increase from July 2014. Inventories were valued at $5.6 billion, down 1.0% from June but a 6.0% increase over July 2014.