Wholesale trade up 5th month in a row: StatsCan
Canada's wholesale trade sales rose for the fifth consecutive month in July, according to figures released by Statistics Canada Thursday.
Wholesale trade — how much wholesaler merchants have sold or added to their product inventories — rose by 2.3 per cent in July, hitting $46.2 billion in the month.
The indicator has been rising non-stop since March and could give a hint regarding demand for Canadian products.
In June, wholesale sales rose by two per cent.
Canada's statistical agency said the positive showing was across the product board.
"July's gains were spread across six of the seven wholesale sectors, with food, beverages and tobacco products the only sector reporting lower sales," Statistics Canada said.
Only food and tobacco products had a negative month, down 2.6 per cent in July.
Better still, any inflationary pressures in the world economy might be easing, according to these figures. Statistics Canada noted that Canada's volume of wholesale shipments rose 2.2 per cent, making any sales gain due to product price hikes very minimal.
Fertilizer boostAgricultural supplies, helped by soaring fertilizer sales, and metal shipments were the big winners in July's numbers.
Farm-type shipments were included in the catch-all "other products" category, which was up six per cent compared with June. The sales gain marked a turnaround from June when shipments in this category fell by 3.4 per cent from May.
Fertilizer sales in July jumped 30 per cent from June, and more than double compared with this time last year.
Wholesale metal sales also jumped, in this case 10.8 per cent in July compared with June. That showing represented an improvement compared with June's gain of 7.9 per cent versus the previous month. Looking at last July, metal sales have increased 24.3 per cent.
Saskatchewan soarsSaskatchewan posted the biggest gain among the provinces. Shipments from Saskatchewan popped more than 10 per cent, at 10.4 per cent in July versus June. Looking back a year, provincial wholesale trade sales have jumped almost 63 per cent.
Potash and fertilizer sales along with other farm products have helped the Prairie province become this year's star.
Alberta posted a more modest wholesale trade gain of 2.6 per cent in July compared with the previous month.
But in a sign of a potential slowdown, British Columbia saw its wholesale trade slip 0.9 per cent in July. Worse still, the province is down 5.9 per cent compared to the summer of 2007.
Ontario's wholesale sales rose by 2.6 per cent in July versus June.
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