Statistics
Canada informed on Tuesday that wholesale sales (excluding petroleum and
oilseed and grain) decreased 1.1 per cent m-o-m to CAD81.41 billion in March, following
an unrevised flat m-o-m performance in February.
This marked the steepest monthly
decline in wholesale sales in four months.
Economists had predicted
a 1.3 per cent m-o-m drop for March.
According to
the report, sales decreased in three of the seven subsectors, including motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and
accessories (-5.8 per cent m-o-m), miscellaneous (-5.0 per cent m-o-m), and building
material and supplies (-0.7 per cent m-o-m). Meanwhile, farm product, excluding
oilseed and grain (+3.8 per cent m-o-m) and machinery, equipment and supplies (+1.6
per cent m-o-m) recorded the largest advances in wholesale sales in March.
In y-o-y terms,
wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons
and excluding oilseed and grain) slipped 0.4 per cent in March.
In the first
quarter of 2024, Canada’s wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum
products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) decreased by 0.4
per cent q-o-q, with motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories
(-4.2 per cent q-o-q) and building material and supplies subsectors (-2.6 per
cent q-o-q) leading the decline. Compared
with the first quarter of 2023, sales plunged 1.3 per cent.