Canadian wholesale trade falls 2.2%, most sectors weak

Apr 22, 2016

The value of Canadian wholesale trade sank by a much larger-than-expected 2.2 per cent in February, pulled down in part by lower machinery and equipment sales, Statistics Canada data indicated on Wednesday.

Analysts in a Reuters poll predicted a 0.3 per cent drop in wholesale sales from January after three consecutive month-on-month increases. The decline was the largest since the 3.6 per cent retreat seen in January 2015.

Lower sales were recorded in five of seven subsectors, accounting for 66 per cent of total wholesale trade. In volume terms, sales fell by 1.9 per cent.

The machinery, equipment and supplies subsector fell by 4.8 per cent on broad-based weakness, particularly in construction, forestry, mining and industrial machinery and supplies.

The motor vehicles and parts subsector dropped by 3.5 per cent on lower imports and exports as well as lower sales by assembly plants. Overall, wholesale inventories rose by 0.2 per cent.

Source: The Globe and Mail