Canada wholesale trade for June -2.8% versus -4.2% expected

<ul><li>Prior month 3.5% revised to 2.9%</li><li>Wholesale sales (excluding certain categories) dropped -2.8% to $80.5 billion versus expectations for a decline of -4.2%</li><li>May's increase was the largest since June 2020.</li><li>Most subsectors reported a decline in sales.</li><li>The drop in sales was primarily driven by the miscellaneous, machinery, equipment and supplies, and the motor vehicle subsectors.</li><li>These subsectors had seen a sales surge in May.</li><li>Year-over-year, wholesale sales (with exclusions) decreased by -0.4% compared to June 2022.</li><li>Data on petroleum products and oilseed and grain remain available in tables but are excluded from monthly analysis until historical data is ready.</li><li>Constant dollar sales (with exclusions) declined by -3.7% in June 2023.</li></ul><p>Details show:</p><ul><li><p>Miscellaneous subsector sales decreased by -7.3% to $10.3 billion in June.</p><ul><li>Four of seven industry groups saw a monthly increase.</li><li>The agricultural products industry group's sales dropped -19.4% to $3.3 billion in June, affecting the overall subsector.</li><li>This decline followed a sales surge in May due to confirmed deliveries and seasonal demand.</li></ul></li><li><p>Machinery, equipment and supplies subsector sales fell -4.2% to $17.8 billion in June.</p><ul><li>This followed a significant rise in May, the largest since June 2020.</li><li>Most industry groups reported a monthly sales decline in June 2023.</li><li>The other machinery, equipment and supplies industry group saw a decrease of -8.9% to $4.2 billion.</li><li>The construction, forestry, mining, and industrial machinery group dropped -6.0% to $5.9 billion.</li><li>Both groups had a sales surge in May due to high equipment demand.</li></ul></li><li><p>Motor vehicle, parts and accessories subsector sales went down 3.1% to $13.2 billion in June.</p><ul><li>The motor vehicles industry group's sales decreased by -4.3% to $10.6 billion.</li><li>This decline followed a record sales high in May for this subsector.</li></ul></li></ul><ul><li><p>Inventories in June:</p><ul><li>Wholesale inventories (with exclusions) decreased by -1.2% to $127.7 billion.</li><li>This was the third inventory decline in 2023.</li><li>Four out of seven subsectors reported a drop in inventories.</li><li>The machinery, equipment, and supplies subsector saw the largest decline (-2.6% to $36.9 billion).</li><li>The building material and supplies subsector decreased by -2.0% to $23.3 billion.</li><li>The inventory-to-sales ratio rose from 1.54 in May to 1.59 in June, indicating a longer time to exhaust inventories at current sales levels.</li></ul></li><li><p>Wholesale Sales in Q2 2023:</p><ul><li>Wholesale sales (with exclusions) fell by -2.0% to $243.9 billion, largely due to June's sales drop.</li><li>The miscellaneous subsector had the most significant quarterly sales decline, dropping -10.4% to $31.8 billion.</li><li>The food and beverage subsector decreased by -3.0% to $44.5 billion.</li><li>Compared to Q2 2022, the wholesale sector's quarterly sales grew by +1.2% in Q2 2023.</li></ul></li></ul>

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.