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Wholesale trade, February 2017

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Released: 2017-04-24

Wholesale sales — Canada

$58.9 billion

February 2017

-0.2% decrease

(monthly change)

Wholesale sales — N.L.

$367.7 million

February 2017

-0.8% decrease

(monthly change)

Wholesale sales — P.E.I.

$54.4 million

February 2017

-7.1% decrease

(monthly change)

Wholesale sales — N.S.

$784.8 million

February 2017

-6.4% decrease

(monthly change)

Wholesale sales — N.B.

$549.5 million

February 2017

-0.8% decrease

(monthly change)

Wholesale sales — Que.

$10,479.5 million

February 2017

-1.2% decrease

(monthly change)

Wholesale sales — Ont.

$30,361.5 million

February 2017

-0.5% decrease

(monthly change)

Wholesale sales — Man.

$1,471.8 million

February 2017

-0.6% decrease

(monthly change)

Wholesale sales — Sask.

$2,210.1 million

February 2017

3.1% increase

(monthly change)

Wholesale sales — Alta.

$6,721.8 million

February 2017

2.9% increase

(monthly change)

Wholesale sales — B.C.

$5,779.3 million

February 2017

-0.3% decrease

(monthly change)

Wholesale sales — Y.T.

$11.0 million

February 2017

2.8% increase

(monthly change)

Wholesale sales — N.W.T.

$56.3 million

February 2017

-2.2% decrease

(monthly change)

Wholesale sales — Nvt.

$8.2 million

February 2017

-1.3% decrease

(monthly change)

Wholesale sales edged down 0.2% to $58.9 billion in February, following four consecutive monthly increases. Declines were recorded in four subsectors, led by lower sales in the personal and household goods and the food, beverage and tobacco subsectors.

In volume terms, wholesale sales decreased 0.4%.

Chart 1  Chart 1: Wholesale sales edge down in February
Wholesale sales edge down in February

Lower sales in four subsectors

Sales decreased in four of seven subsectors in February, accounting for 54% of total wholesale sales.

The personal and household goods subsector recorded the largest decline in dollar terms in February, down 1.7% to $8.3 billion, as sales decreased in five of six industries in that subsector. Following an increase of 30.2% in January in the home entertainment equipment and household appliance industry, the industry decreased 14.6% to $846 million. Despite the decline this month, wholesale sales in the industry were 8.7% higher than for the same period in 2016.

Following a flat January, the food, beverage and tobacco subsector reported a 1.0% decline in February to $11.0 billion, led by the food industry (-0.9%).

Sales in the farm product subsector decreased 3.0% to $658 million, while the motor vehicle and parts subsector edged down 0.1% to $11.9 billion. The posted declines for both subsectors in February followed reported increases in January.

The machinery, equipment and supplies subsector rose 0.6% to $11.5 billion, offsetting a 0.6% decline reported in January. The farm, lawn and garden machinery and equipment industry (+9.7%) contributed the most to the gain, attaining its highest level of sales since August 2016.

Sales in the building material and supplies subsector increased 0.6% to $8.1 billion, its fifth consecutive monthly gain, while sales in the miscellaneous subsector rose 0.6% to $7.3 billion for its third increase in four months.

Sales down in eight provinces

Wholesale sales were down in eight provinces in February, accounting for 85% of total wholesale sales. In dollar terms, Ontario and Quebec contributed the most to the decline.

In Ontario, sales fell 0.5% to $30.4 billion in February, following a 6.3% rise in January. Declines were recorded in four subsectors, led by the machinery, equipment and supplies and the food, beverage and tobacco subsectors.

Sales in Quebec decreased for a second consecutive month, down 1.2% to $10.5 billion. While six subsectors reported declines, the largest contributor to Quebec's decrease was the personal and household goods subsector.

Nova Scotia recorded its first decline in three months, with sales dropping 6.4% to $785 million, mostly offsetting a 7.9% gain in January. Sales were down in most subsectors, led by the motor vehicle and parts subsector.

British Columbia recorded lower sales, edging down 0.3% to $5.8 billion. The decline was led by the motor vehicle and parts subsector. This was the province's second consecutive decline.

In Manitoba, sales were down 0.6% to $1.5 billion, with the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector leading the decline. In New Brunswick, sales decreased 0.8% to $550 million, led by weaker sales in the building material and supplies subsector. Both provinces had recorded gains in January.

Sales in Prince Edward Island fell 7.1% to $54 million, a second consecutive monthly decrease and the lowest level since March 2014. The food, beverage and tobacco subsector contributed the most to the decline.

Newfoundland and Labrador posted a third consecutive decrease, with sales down 0.8% to $368 million, primarily on lower sales in the motor vehicle and parts subsector.

In contrast, wholesale sales in Alberta rose for the fifth consecutive month, up 2.9% to $6.7 billion, reaching their highest level since June 2015. The machinery, equipment and supplies subsector led the gain.

In Saskatchewan, sales increased 3.1% to $2.2 billion in February. As in Alberta, higher sales in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector contributed the most to the rise in this province.

Inventories edge up in February

Wholesale inventories edged up 0.2% to $74.1 billion in February, the sixth gain in seven months.

Chart 2  Chart 2: Inventories edge up in February
Inventories edge up in February

In dollar terms, the miscellaneous subsector (+1.9%) recorded the largest gain, followed by the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector (+0.6%). This was the fourth increase in five months for the miscellaneous subsector and the sixth increase in seven months for the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector.

Inventories in the motor vehicle and parts subsector were up 0.6% in February, partially offsetting a decline in January.

In the personal and household goods subsector (-0.7%), inventories dropped for the first time in three months.

The food, beverage and tobacco subsector (-1.2%) declined for a second consecutive month, while the building material and supplies subsector (-0.2%) posted its fourth consecutive decrease.

The inventory-to-sales ratio rose from 1.25 in January to 1.26 in February. This ratio is a measure of the time in months required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current level.

Telling Canada's story in numbers; #ByTheNumbers

In celebration of the country's 150th birthday, Statistics Canada is presenting snapshots from our rich statistical history.

From 1926 to 2012 (the most recent year available), the wholesale trade sector accounted on average for 4.7% of Canada's economy as measured by Gross Domestic Product. However, the wholesale sector's share of the economy has fluctuated over time.

In general, the wholesale sector's share of the Canadian economy has increased in each decade since the 1920s as Canada's economy has shifted towards a modern service-oriented and trade-open economy.

While the sector's share of the Canadian economy stood at 3.4% in 1926, from 1986 to 2012 this percentage never fell below 5%. It reached its peak in 2006, at 5.9%.

The lowest level (3.1%) was reached in 1943, in the middle of the Second World War (1939-1945). During the war years, this percentage always remained under 4%. Although the size of the wholesale trade sector increased over this period, the Canadian economy as a whole grew even faster.




  Note to readers

All data in this release are seasonally adjusted and expressed in current dollars unless otherwise noted. For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.

Total wholesale sales expressed in volume are calculated by deflating current dollar values using relevant price indexes. The wholesale sales series in chained (2007) dollars is a chained Fisher volume index with 2007 as the reference year. For more information, see Sales in volume for Wholesale Trade.

The Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey covers all industries within the wholesale trade sector as defined by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), with the exception of oilseed and grain merchant wholesalers (NAICS 41112), petroleum and petroleum products merchant wholesalers (NAICS 412) and business-to-business electronic markets, and agents and brokers (NAICS 419).

For information on trend-cycle data, see the StatCan Blog and Trend-cycle estimates – Frequently asked questions.

Real-time CANSIM tables

Real-time CANSIM tables 081-8011, 081-8012 and 081-8015 will be updated on May 1. For more information, consult the document Real-time CANSIM tables.

Next release

Wholesale trade data for March will be released on May 23.

Contact information

For more information, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca).

For analytical information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact John Burton (613-862-4878; john.burton@canada.ca), Manufacturing and Wholesale Trade Division.

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