Statistics Canada
www.statcan.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Wholesale trade
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Wholesale sales fell 0.6% to $41.0 billion in current dollars in February. Declining sales in the machinery and equipment trade group and the "other products" sector were major factors contributing to this decrease. In terms of the volume of sales, wholesale sales were flat.
Canadian wholesalers sell to both the domestic and international markets, and are active importers and exporters. The decline in sales reflected both lower export demand for Canadian goods, a significant part of which flows through wholesale markets, and weaker sales in Canada.
Note to readers
Wholesale sales in volume terms 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.
Unadjusted monthly data were revised as of January 2006, while seasonally adjusted data were revised as of January 2004. Factors influencing revisions include late receipt of respondent information, correction of information on data provided, the replacement of estimated figures with actual values (once available), the re-classification of companies within, into and out of the wholesale trade industry and updates to seasonal and trading day factors.
Data in constant prices have also been revised to incorporate the revision to the current dollar series for the period from 2004 to date.
The revised data are now available on CANSIM and by special request, and will also appear in the February 2009 issue of Wholesale Trade (63-008-XWE, free).
In February, four out of seven sectors, accounting for over two-thirds of total wholesale sales, posted declines.
The machinery and electronic equipment sector declined 1.6%, largely as a result of lower sales in the machinery and equipment trade group (-5.2%), which accounts for close to half of the sales in this sector. Within this trade group, declines were observed in industrial as well as in mining, oil and gas well machinery and equipment wholesalers.
Sales in the "other products" sector fell 4.0% to $5.3 billion in February, offsetting a 4.0% rise in January. The main contributors were declines in all other wholesalers and agricultural chemical and other farm supplies. This was the lowest level in this sector since August 2007. The "other products" sector includes a wide range of wholesaling activity ranging from recycled metal, recycled paper and paperboard, stationery and office supplies, and other paper and disposable plastic products wholesalers, to agricultural feed and seed wholesalers and agricultural chemical and other farm suppliers, chemical (except agricultural) and allied products, and all other wholesalers.
Declines were also seen in the food and beverages sector (-1.0%) and the building materials sector (-0.9%).
The largest increase came in the automotive products sector, which rose 4.0% in February, following a 21.8% decline in January. Sales of motor vehicles increased 9.4%, offsetting some of the losses in January. Sales in motor vehicle parts and accessories fell 7.6% in February, its largest drop since April 2003.
Wholesale sales down in five provinces
Provincially, Saskatchewan registered the largest decrease (-6.4%) in February, following a 10.7% increase in January. Lower sales in the "other products" and machinery and electronic equipment sectors were behind most of the decreases for the month.
Wholesale sales in Alberta fell 3.2%, the fifth decline in six months. Weakness was seen in several sectors, including machinery and electronic equipment, and building supplies.
Wholesale sales in Quebec rose 1.4%, while they declined 0.7% in Ontario.
Sales increased in three out of four Atlantic provinces, with Newfoundland and Labrador (+5.0%) and Nova Scotia (+4.0%) leading the way.
Inventory-to-sales ratio continues to climb
Inventories edged up 0.1% in February.
Among the 15 wholesale trade groups, 7 reported higher inventory levels, including alcohol and tobacco (+2.2%), office and professional equipment (+1.5%) and building supplies (+1.3%).
These increases were partially offset by declines in inventories of the lumber and millwork (-2.5%), computer and electronic equipment (-1.5%), and farm products (-3.4%) trade groups.
The slowdown in sales and the slight gain in inventories led to an increase in the inventory-to-sales ratio from 1.43 in January to 1.44 in February. This was the highest level since October 1995. The average inventory-to-sales ratio for 2008 was 1.27.
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 081-0007 to 081-0010.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2401.
The February 2009 issue of Wholesale Trade (63-008-XWE, free) will soon be available.
Wholesale trade data for March will be released on May 21.
To obtain data, or for more 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 Steve Chadder (613-951-0303; steve.chadder@statcan.gc.ca), Distributive Trades Division.
Table 1
| February 2008 | November 2008r | December 2008r | January 2009r | February 2009p | January to February 2009 | February 2008 to February 2009 | January 2009r | February 2009p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale inventories | Inventory-to-sales ratio | ||||||||
| Seasonally adjusted | |||||||||
| $ millions | % change | ||||||||
| Inventories | 54,308 | 58,746 | 58,667 | 58,828 | 58,862 | 0.1 | 8.4 | 1.43 | 1.44 |
| Farm products | 172 | 180 | 179 | 176 | 170 | -3.4 | -1.5 | 0.38 | 0.36 |
| Food products | 4,258 | 4,682 | 4,623 | 4,630 | 4,643 | 0.3 | 9.0 | 0.62 | 0.63 |
| Alcohol and tobacco | 359 | 431 | 400 | 420 | 430 | 2.2 | 19.9 | 0.55 | 0.55 |
| Apparel | 1,785 | 1,975 | 2,057 | 2,106 | 2,096 | -0.5 | 17.4 | 2.53 | 2.44 |
| Household and personal products | 4,045 | 4,124 | 4,071 | 4,084 | 4,048 | -0.9 | 0.1 | 1.54 | 1.51 |
| Pharmaceuticals | 3,802 | 4,035 | 4,112 | 4,087 | 4,097 | 0.2 | 7.8 | 1.24 | 1.24 |
| Motor vehicles | 4,559 | 4,368 | 4,268 | 4,096 | 4,099 | 0.1 | -10.1 | 1.20 | 1.09 |
| Motor vehicle parts and accessories | 3,201 | 3,352 | 3,382 | 3,350 | 3,343 | -0.2 | 4.4 | 2.06 | 2.23 |
| Building supplies | 5,915 | 6,270 | 6,362 | 6,412 | 6,498 | 1.3 | 9.9 | 1.76 | 1.79 |
| Metal products | 2,781 | 3,209 | 3,251 | 3,274 | 3,287 | 0.4 | 18.2 | 2.24 | 2.45 |
| Lumber and millwork | 1,061 | 1,118 | 1,054 | 1,048 | 1,023 | -2.5 | -3.6 | 1.46 | 1.31 |
| Machinery and equipment | 11,448 | 12,383 | 12,388 | 12,537 | 12,504 | -0.3 | 9.2 | 2.61 | 2.75 |
| Computer and other electronic equipment | 1,657 | 1,917 | 1,773 | 1,764 | 1,738 | -1.5 | 4.9 | 0.72 | 0.67 |
| Office and professional equipment | 2,636 | 2,885 | 2,912 | 2,950 | 2,995 | 1.5 | 13.6 | 1.39 | 1.43 |
| Other products | 6,629 | 7,818 | 7,837 | 7,892 | 7,890 | 0.0 | 19.0 | 1.43 | 1.49 |
Table 2
| February 2008 | November 2008r | December 2008r | January 2009r | February 2009p | January to February 2009 | February 2008 to February 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | |||||||
| $ millions | % change | ||||||
| Total, wholesale sales | 42,855 | 44,303 | 42,912 | 41,237 | 40,979 | -0.6 | -4.4 |
| Farm products | 459 | 480 | 437 | 459 | 469 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| Food, beverages and tobacco products | 7,624 | 8,020 | 8,157 | 8,231 | 8,147 | -1.0 | 6.9 |
| Food products | 6,843 | 7,290 | 7,369 | 7,462 | 7,365 | -1.3 | 7.6 |
| Alcohol and tobacco | 781 | 730 | 789 | 769 | 782 | 1.7 | 0.2 |
| Personal and household goods | 6,501 | 6,744 | 6,753 | 6,784 | 6,827 | 0.6 | 5.0 |
| Apparel | 789 | 888 | 822 | 833 | 859 | 3.1 | 8.9 |
| Household and personal products | 2,683 | 2,622 | 2,666 | 2,658 | 2,675 | 0.7 | -0.3 |
| Pharmaceuticals | 3,030 | 3,234 | 3,264 | 3,294 | 3,293 | 0.0 | 8.7 |
| Automotive products | 7,065 | 6,716 | 6,457 | 5,051 | 5,250 | 4.0 | -25.7 |
| Motor vehicles | 5,527 | 5,093 | 4,806 | 3,425 | 3,749 | 9.4 | -32.2 |
| Motor vehicle parts and accessories | 1,538 | 1,623 | 1,651 | 1,625 | 1,502 | -7.6 | -2.3 |
| Building materials | 6,050 | 6,456 | 6,147 | 5,817 | 5,764 | -0.9 | -4.7 |
| Building supplies | 3,714 | 3,974 | 3,795 | 3,635 | 3,639 | 0.1 | -2.0 |
| Metal products | 1,480 | 1,627 | 1,573 | 1,463 | 1,343 | -8.2 | -9.3 |
| Lumber and millwork | 856 | 856 | 778 | 719 | 782 | 8.8 | -8.7 |
| Machinery and electronic equipment | 9,260 | 10,126 | 9,658 | 9,380 | 9,225 | -1.6 | -0.4 |
| Machinery and equipment | 4,713 | 5,253 | 4,907 | 4,805 | 4,553 | -5.2 | -3.4 |
| Computer and other electronic equipment | 2,580 | 2,782 | 2,657 | 2,456 | 2,582 | 5.1 | 0.1 |
| Office and professional equipment | 1,966 | 2,092 | 2,094 | 2,118 | 2,090 | -1.3 | 6.3 |
| Other products | 5,897 | 5,760 | 5,302 | 5,516 | 5,296 | -4.0 | -10.2 |
| Total, excluding automobiles | 35,790 | 37,587 | 36,455 | 36,187 | 35,729 | -1.3 | -0.2 |
| Sales, province and territory | |||||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 248 | 285 | 279 | 278 | 292 | 5.0 | 18.1 |
| Prince Edward Island | 38 | 44 | 40 | 38 | 37 | -3.1 | -1.4 |
| Nova Scotia | 570 | 606 | 591 | 568 | 591 | 4.0 | 3.7 |
| New Brunswick | 425 | 452 | 441 | 438 | 438 | 0.1 | 3.0 |
| Quebec | 8,181 | 8,352 | 8,207 | 8,008 | 8,117 | 1.4 | -0.8 |
| Ontario | 20,945 | 21,354 | 20,862 | 19,493 | 19,365 | -0.7 | -7.5 |
| Manitoba | 1,164 | 1,102 | 1,074 | 1,114 | 1,124 | 0.9 | -3.4 |
| Saskatchewan | 1,467 | 1,741 | 1,507 | 1,668 | 1,561 | -6.4 | 6.4 |
| Alberta | 5,382 | 5,887 | 5,638 | 5,488 | 5,310 | -3.2 | -1.3 |
| British Columbia | 4,360 | 4,414 | 4,194 | 4,065 | 4,057 | -0.2 | -6.9 |
| Yukon | 14 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 3.2 | -19.4 |
| Northwest Territories | 58 | 54 | 53 | 59 | 58 | -2.3 | -0.7 |
| Nunavut | 3 | 3 | 16 | 7 | 16 | 121.0 | 500.0 |
