Weakness in the auto sector and agricultural supplies industry pulled down Canadian wholesale trade by 1% in January from December, the second decline in three months following six consecutive gains, Statistics Canada said on Monday.
The decrease surprised market players who had forecast, on average, 0.3% sales growth in the month for wholesalers. In volume terms, sales were also down 1%.
Six of the seven subsectors reported a drop in sales in January. Three quarters of the decrease came from the motor vehicles and parts subsector and the miscellaneous subsector, which includes agricultural supplies such as fertilizer.
Sales of motor vehicles and parts fell 3%, not quite erasing the 3.7% gain in December. In the miscellaneous category, sales fell 2.5% mainly due to a 6.3% slide in agricultural supplies. Trade data show exports of fertilizer products plummeted 32% in the month as weak global demand dampened prices.
Wholesale inventories grew 0.9%, extending a trend that began at the start of 2011.
Compared with January of 2011, overall wholesale trade grew 4% and inventories expanded by 9.1%.
