Wholesale trade
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Wholesale sales edged up 0.1% to $46.8 billion in March, following a 0.9% decline in February.
Gains in the miscellaneous and the motor vehicle and parts subsectors in March were offset by declines in the machinery, equipment and supplies and the food, beverages and tobacco subsectors, amongst others.
In volume terms, wholesale sales rose 0.4% in March.
The results in March were mixed, with three of the seven subsectors reporting higher sales.
The miscellaneous subsector (+2.3%) posted the largest increase, following a 3.4% decline in February. Most of the industries in this subsector registered gains in March.
Sales in the motor vehicle and parts subsector rose 0.6%. The 2.6% increase in the motor vehicle industry was almost cancelled out by the steep decline in the new motor vehicle parts and accessories industry (-5.8%). Wholesalers in this industry sell mainly to retailers and dealers.
Note to readers
All the data in this release are seasonally adjusted and in current dollars, unless otherwise noted.
Wholesale sales expressed in volume are calculated by deflating current dollar values using import and industry product price indexes. Since many of the goods sold by wholesalers are imported, fluctuations in the value of the Canadian dollar can have an important influence on the prices of goods bought and sold by wholesalers.
The wholesale sales series in chained (2002) dollars is a chained Fisher volume index with 2002 as the reference year.
Sales in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector were down 0.6%, mainly because of weaker sales in the computer and communications equipment and supplies industry (-3.0%).
Wholesale sales of food, beverages and tobacco fell 0.4%, the second consecutive decline.
Sales up in half of the provinces
Wholesale sales were up in five provinces in March.
Wholesalers in Alberta contributed the most to the increase, followed by wholesalers in Saskatchewan. On the other hand, decreases were concentrated in Ontario and Quebec.
In Alberta, wholesale sales increased 1.9% to $5.6 billion in March. This increase was mainly a result of higher sales in the construction, forestry, mining, and industrial machinery, equipment and supplies industry.
In Saskatchewan, wholesale sales rose 5.9% in March, reflecting higher sales in the agricultural supplies industry.
Wholesale sales fell for a second consecutive month in Ontario and Quebec. Ontario, which accounts for more than 50% of all wholesale sales, registered a 0.4% decline in March, while sales in Quebec decreased 0.6%.
Inventory levels up
Inventories rose 0.8% in March to $54.9 billion, a third consecutive increase. Since December, inventories have climbed 3.5%, following a relatively stable period in the second half of 2010.
In March, increases were reported by wholesalers in 16 of the 25 industries, led by the construction, forestry, mining, and industrial machinery, equipment and supplies industry (+3.6%) and the pharmaceutical and pharmacy supplies industry (+2.9%).
The inventory-to-sales ratio remained unchanged at 1.17, which is comparable to the level observed throughout 2010.
The inventory-to-sales ratio is a measure of the time in months required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current level.
Available on CANSIM: tables 081-0011 to 081-0013.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2401.
The March 2011 issue of Wholesale Trade (63-008-X, free) will soon be available.
Wholesale trade data for April will be released on June 17.
To obtain data, or for more information, contact Client Services (613-951-3549; toll-free 1-877-421-3067; wholesaleinfo@statcan.gc.ca). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Karim El hassani (613-951-0608; karim.elhassani@statcan.gc.ca), Distributive Trades Division.
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