Statistics Canada
www.statcan.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Wholesale trade
The value and volume of wholesale trade rose in May, due in large part to higher global demand for agricultural chemical products.
Current dollar wholesale trade rose 1.6% to $44.2 billion in May, the fourth gain in the last five months. When removing the effect of price changes, sales in constant dollars increased by 0.7% in May.
Overall, six of seven wholesale sectors reported higher sales values, with the only decline coming from the automotive sector. Both motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts and accessories fell.
Since February 2008, the trend in current dollar wholesale trade has been slightly upwards. This follows a period, from July 2007 to February 2008, where sales had been trending gradually down, largely as a result of a slowdown in exports of motor vehicles and lumber.
Strong gains for agricultural chemical products
The "other products" sector, which consists primarily of agricultural fertilizers and supplies, chemicals, recycled materials and paper products, recorded its strongest gain this year as current dollar sales rose 9.5% to $6.4 billion in May.
Sales of agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers were particularly strong, reflecting strong global demand for these products. Exports of fertilizers and fertilizer materials were 57.7% higher in May compared with the same month in 2007. In addition, based on figures from the Industrial Product Price Index, overall fertilizer prices in May were 27.5% higher than May 2007 prices.
Farm products posted their largest monthly increase in two years, as current dollar sales increased 7.3% in May to $474.6 million. This strong gain reversed all of the decreases registered in the first five months of 2008.
Saskatchewan and Alberta lead the way
In Saskatchewan, sales increased for a third straight month in May, up 5.8% to $1.7 billion. Higher sales of building supplies and farm products were largely responsible for the increase.
Sales in Alberta (+4.7%) rose for a fifth consecutive month on the strength of several sectors, notably building supplies, machinery and equipment, and "other products".
Note to readersThe volume of sales (in constant dollars) is calculated by deflating current dollar sales using import and industry product price indexes. Since many of the goods sold by wholesalers are imported, any fluctuation in the value of the Canadian dollar can lead to differences between the level and growth rates of the volume of sales and those in current dollars. For example, in periods where the Canadian dollar is appreciating, as has recently been the case, prices tend to fall and, as a consequence, the level in volume can be higher than that of current dollars. The volume of wholesale sales is a chained Fisher volume estimate with 2002 as the reference year. |
Only two provinces showed drops in May: British Columbia (-1.3%), which was affected by declines in the building materials, and the machinery and equipment sectors, and Newfoundland and Labrador (-0.4%).
Inventories up for the third month in a row
Inventories rose for the third consecutive month in May, up 0.6% to $54.8 billion. Overall, 10 out of the 15 trade groups, representing 82% of inventories, reported increases in May.
The inventory-to-sales ratio declined for a second consecutive month, from 1.25 in April to 1.24 in May.
Available on CANSIM: tables 081-0007 to 081-0010.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2401.
The May 2008 issue of Wholesale Trade (63-008-XWE, free) will soon be available.
Wholesale trade estimates for June will be released on August 19.
To obtain data or general information, contact Client Services (toll-free 1-877-421-3067; 613-951-3549; wholesaleinfo@statcan.gc.ca). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Pierre Desjardins (613-951-9682; pierre.desjardins@statcan.gc.ca), Distributive Trades Division.
Table(s).
