Wholesalers sold $55.9 billion worth of goods and services in November, up 1.8% from October and 4.2% higher than in November 2014. Excluding the automotive sector, wholesale sales were up 3.9% from November 2014.
In terms of volume, wholesale sales were up 1.6% in November from October.
Annualized wholesale sales grew in nine provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador (+11.2%) led the way, followed by Ontario (+8.7%) and Nova Scotia (+4.3%). Quebec’s gain was 4.2%. Alberta experienced the only loss (-10.8%).
Wholesalers’ inventories in November decreased 0.2% from October to $73.0 billion. They were up 7.5% from November 2014. Month-over-month declines were recorded in three of the seven sectors, representing 63.0% of total wholesale inventories, with the machinery, equipment and supplies sector accounting for most of the decrease (-1.31%). The monthly decrease for the building materials and supplies industry was 0.4%, its eighth consecutive monthly decline. The inventory-to-sales ratio was 1.31 in November, down from 1.33 in October. 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 $7.8 billion in November, up 2.8% from October and 1.9% higher than in November 2014. Inventories were valued at $12.0 billion, down 0.4% from October and 3.6% lower than in November 2014.
Wholesale sales of electrical, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning equipment and supplies stood at $2.4 billion in November, up 1.1% from October but 0.1% lower than in November 2014. Inventories were valued at $3.2 billion, down 0.4% from October but 3.4% higher than in November 2014.
Wholesale sales of metal service centres were $1.4 billion in November, up 1.8% from October, but a decrease of 15.0% from November 2014. Inventories were valued at $3.2 billion, down 2.2% from October and a 16.8% decrease from November 2014.
Wholesale sales of lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies were $4.0 billion in November, up 4.3% from October and an 11.4% increase in November 2014. Inventories were valued at $5.6 billion, up 0.7% from October and a 1.6% increase over November 2014.