Wholesale sales in British Columbia fell 2.5% to $4.7 billion in September after seven gains in eight months, according to Statistics Canada data released November 20.
B.C.’s drop was due in large part to a 7.5% decline in sales in the building material and supplies subsector.
Not all subsectors fell, however, and the province saw gains in farm products sales (up 20%), motor vehicle and parts sales (up 10%), personal and household goods (up 3.7%) and machinery (up 0.2%).
Canada-wide, wholesale sales grew 0.2% to $49.8 billion. The biggest national gain was in the miscellaneous subsector, up 1.3%, which is due in most part to a 4.3% increase in agricultural supplies sales – the first gain in that subsector in four months.
Prince Edward Island saw the biggest provincial gain in the country, with sales rising 6.1% to $327 million. Saskatchewan’s wholesale sales grew by 4.6% to $1.9 billion and Nova Scotia saw a 3.1% increase to $707 million.
Year-over-year, B.C.’s sales fell 3.5% from $4.5 billion in September 2012. Across Canada, sales grew by 2.6% over the 12 months leading to September 2013. The biggest gain over the year was found in P.E.I., which saw a 12.7% growth.
