Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) increased 0.3% to $93.1 billion in July. Sales increased in three of the seven subsectors, representing about 50% of total wholesale sales. The largest increases came from the building material and supplies subsector (+3.5% to $13.8 billion) and the food, beverage and tobacco subsector (+1.7% to $16.7 billion). Wholesale sales were 7.9% higher on a year-over-year basis, according to a report released Tuesday by Statistics Canada.
In volume terms, wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) were down 0.6% in July, it said.
Building material and supplies subsector drives gains
"Sales in the building material and supplies subsector increased 3.5% to $13.8 billion in July. The increase was driven by sales in the metal service centres industry group (+10.3% to $2.6 billion), which was partly attributable to higher prices, notably for steel products," explained the federal agency.
"The food, beverage and tobacco subsector posted the second-largest increase in July, with its sales rising 1.7% to $16.7 billion. Sales increased in three of the four industry groups in the subsector. The food industry group (+1.5% to $14.9 billion) recorded the largest gain, partly because of higher volumes sold.
"The increase in wholesale sales in July was moderated by a decline in the mineral, ore and precious metal industry group, in which sales declined 31.4% to $899.6 million. The decrease was partly due to lower volumes sold for precious metals. This downturn led to the decrease within the miscellaneous subsector, which was down 2.9% to $12.3 billion. This was the first decline for the miscellaneous subsector since February."
Wholesale inventories essentially unchanged
Wholesale inventories (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) were essentially unchanged in July, at $140.6 billion, said Statistics Canada.
Inventories decreased in four subsectors in July. The largest decrease came from the personal and household goods subsector (-1.7% to $22.5 billion), followed by the miscellaneous subsector (-1.1% to $15.8 billion), it noted.
The inventory-to-sales ratio edged down from 1.52 in June to 1.51 in July. This ratio measures the time, in months, required to exhaust inventories if sales remain at current levels.