September Wholesale Sales Edge Up

Wholesale sales rose slightly in September, up 0.1 per cent to $81.8 billion, says Statistics Canada. The largest increases came from personal and household goods and food, beverage, and tobacco. Sales rose in five of seven subsectors, which account for 70.2 per cent of wholesale sales. Sales in the building material and supplies subsector were up 6.9 per cent year over, with electrical, plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning equipment and supplies up 10 per cent and lumber, millwork, hardware, and other building supplies up 2.4 per cent. For the third quarter, overall sales rose 1.2 per cent from August to $243.8 billion and rose 13.1 per cent compared to the third quarter of 2021. Quebec sales had the highest provincial increase, up 1.4 per cent to $14.7 billion. Saskatchewan saw the largest decline among the remaining provinces and territories, with a decrease of 2.5 per cent to $4.2 billion. Inventories rose 1.2 per cent to $125 billion, the eighth consecutive monthly increase. Six of the seven subsectors reported increased inventories, and building material and supplies was the only subsector with a decrease in inventories.