Sales of food, beverage and tobacco lead May increase in wholesale sales

Ottawa – Wholesale sales rose 1.6 per cent in May to $81.1 billion, predominantly due to higher sales in food, beverage and tobacco, and also machinery, equipment and supplies.

It is the eighth increase in the past 10 months. Sales increased in five of the seven wholesale trade subsectors, representing 70 per cent of wholesale sales.

Sales in the food, beverage and tobacco subsector increased 7.8 per cent to $14.7 billion in May, the fourth increase in the last five months. This is the highest level recorded for the subsector. All component industries posted gains for the month, but the food industry led the gains, increasing 8.7 per cent to $13.2 billion. The growth was driven by volumes as constant dollar sales in the subsector rose 8.4 per cent in May.

Sales in the food, beverage and tobacco subsector increased 7.8 per cent to $14.7 billion in May, the fourth increase in the last five months.

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The machinery, equipment and supplies subsector posted the second highest gains for May as sales rose 3.2 per cent to $17.0 billion. This was the eighth month-over-month increase in the past nine months. Higher sales in two of the four industries produced the gains for the month. The farm, lawn and garden machinery and equipment industry increased 17.2 per cent to $2.3 billion, and the computer and communications equipment and supplies industry was up 6.5 per cent to $5.4 billion.

Ontario leads provincial gains

Higher sales were reported in seven provinces and two territories in May, accounting for 89 per cent of the national value, with Ontario gaining the most.

In Ontario, sales grew 1.8 per cent to $40.9 billion in May, with higher sales in four of seven subsectors. Higher sales were led by the food, beverage, and tobacco subsector, up 8.8 per cent to $6.7 billion, predominantly due to gains in the food industry. Also contributing to the gains in Ontario was the miscellaneous subsector, up 5.3 per cent, and the 1.5 per cent increase in the machinery equipment and supplies subsector.

Sales in Quebec increased by 1.5 per cent to $15.0 billion, with four of seven subsectors showing an increase in sales. The food, beverage and tobacco subsector also led the gains in Quebec, with an increase of 13.2 per cent to $3.3 billion. Sales in all component industries rose, with the majority of the gains seen in the food industry, up 13.8 per cent.

Sales in Saskatchewan rose by 4.0 per cent to $3.6 billion, with higher sales in five of seven subsectors. The machinery, equipment and supplies subsector led the gains with a 19.0 per cent increase to $0.9 billion.

Inventories rise in May

Wholesale inventories increased 2.5 per cent to $115.2 billion in May, the fourth consecutive month of growth, and the second consecutive month in which all subsectors recorded higher inventories. The largest contributor to the inventory growth was the miscellaneous subsector, followed by the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector, and the building material and supplies subsector.

The miscellaneous subsector saw inventories increase for the fourth consecutive month in May, up 4.2 per cent to $17.0 billion. Agricultural supplies merchant wholesalers were the highest contributing industry, up 9.0 per cent to $7.9 billion, accounting for 81 per cent of the increase. The only industry within the miscellaneous subsector to have lower inventories was the recyclable material industry, which decreased 7.7 per cent.

Inventories of machinery, equipment and supplies rose 2.0 per cent to $31.1 billion. Accounting for half of this increase was the farm, lawn and garden machinery and equipment industry, which rose 5.1 per cent to $6.3 billion. The increase coincided with an 8.3 per cent increase in imports of agriculture, lawn and garden machinery in May.

The inventory-to-sales ratio increased from 1.41 in April to 1.42 in May. This ratio is a measure of the time (in months) required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current levels.