Little bumps
iStockphoto/DKosig

Wholesale sales were down in December, but finished higher for the fourth quarter and for 2024 overall, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

On Friday, the national statistical agency reported that wholesale sales dropped by 0.2% to $83.6 billion in December, led by declines in the building materials and the machinery and equipment sub-sectors. By volume, wholesale sales were down by 0.8% in the month.

Alongside the decline in wholesale sales, inventories rose by 0.6% in December, and the inventory-to-sales ratio — which is a measure of the time (in months) it would take to exhaust inventories — ticked up to 1.53 in December, from 1.52 in November.

Despite the monthly decline, wholesale sales were still up 1.6% in the fourth quarter (on a quarter-over-quarter basis) to $251.1 billion, “driven by higher sales in October,” StatCan said. Volumes were up 0.7% in the quarter, it noted.

For last year overall, wholesale sales were up 0.2% to $994.5 billion in 2024, as sales posted gains in four out of seven sub-sectors.

“The largest increase came from the personal and household goods sub-sector, where sales increased by 4.8% to $146.8 billion in 2024,” StatCan said.

Separately, the agency reported that its latest monthly survey showed that manufacturing sales increased by 0.3% in December to $71.4 billion, marking the third consecutive monthly gain, led by higher sales of petroleum, food products and primary metals.

On a quarterly basis, manufacturing sales were up 1.6% in the fourth quarter to $213.3 billion.

Manufacturing inventories held steady in December, StatCan said, and the sector’s inventory-to-sales ratio was also unchanged at 1.68 in the month.

Yet, for the full year, total manufacturing sales decreased by 2.1% in 2024 to $847.2 billion, StatCan reported — a decline that followed three consecutive yearly increases.

The decline was led by the auto sector, along with a drop in petroleum and coal sales.

“Manufacturing activities in 2024 were marked by unpredictability and numerous internal and external challenges including high interest rates, depreciation of the Canadian dollar, as well as economic uncertainty over global tensions,” StatCan said.

Inventories were also down for the year, declining 2.1% to $119.8 billion at year-end.

About half of Canadian manufacturers’ sales went to foreign customers, and 80% of these exports were to the U.S., StatCan noted.