Alberta leads country in key sales category

The wholesale trade sector in Alberta grew at more than double the year-over-year growth for Canada in February, according to Statistics Canada.

The federal agency reported Monday that wholesale sales in Alberta rose 17 per cent from a year ago to $6.3 billion. while for Canada they rose by 7 per cent to $48.5 billion.

On a monthly basis, sales were up 0.7 per cent in Alberta and 1.6 per cent in Canada.

The level of retail sales in shopping malls and big-box retailers give an excellent indicator of the general health of the economy, said Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial.

“But how much those same retailers are stocking on their shelves gives another indication about how optimistic they are about future sales. After having fallen for three consecutive months, the value of wholesale trade in Alberta rebounded slightly in February.

“Higher wholesale activity in Alberta is welcome news, particularly since another drop would have suggested a four-month downward trend. The softer wholesale activity in the months prior to February was more likely an adjustment period for retailers, who may have found a bit more product remaining on their shelves than they had expected.”

Hirsch said the trend over the past two years continues to show rising wholesale activity.

A lot of the increased activity is related to the jump in investment spending, but Alberta retailers are also stocking shelves with the anticipation shoppers in the province will be buying this spring, he said.