Alberta enjoys rise in wholesale sales
Wholesale sales were better than expected in June as Alberta posted the biggest jump among the provinces, a three per cent increase to $6.2 billion.
Statistics Canada said Monday sales nationally grew by 0.7 per cent to $56.4 billion, the third consecutive month of gains.
“Autos, personal goods and building materials led the advance, and the 0.6 per cent volume gain is a positive insofar as it adds to the healthy manufacturing report released last week,” CIBC economist Nick Exarhos said in a note to clients.
Despite the one-month boost, wholesale trade in Alberta remains 7.6 per cent lower than a year ago.
“Like many sectors in our province, wholesale has had to battle strong economic headwinds,” ATB Financial economist Nick Ford wrote in a commentary.
“While virtually all types of wholesalers have seen activity dwindle from last year, sales are beginning to increase again.”
Ford said machinery, equipment and supplies merchants saw the biggest increases in June, up 18 per cent from May. Building material and supplies (11.1 per cent) and food and beverage wholesalers (four per cent) also post gains.
Last week, Statistics Canada reported manufacturing sales totalled $50.2 billion in June, a rise of 0.8 per cent, after a drop of 1.0 per cent in the prior month.
The overall reading for the economy in the second quarter is expected to show a contraction due in large part to the wildfires that devastated Fort McMurray, which forced several oilsands operations to temporarily shut down, and weak trade figures for the threemonth period. Real gross domestic product fell by 0.6 per cent in May, the largest monthly decline since March 2009.
Statistics Canada said as part of its monthly wholesale trade survey it asked three supplementary questions to assess the impact of the Fort McMurray wildfires.
About 1,250 companies responded to the supplementary questions with 147 wholesalers saying they were affected by the wildfires, down from 212 in May.
Other provinces making gains were British Columbia, up two per cent to $5.7 billion, Ontario, up 0.8 per cent to $28.9 billion, and Quebec, up 0.2 per cent to $10.4 billion.