September 26, 2007

Source: Statistics Canada

Following a weak second quarter, wholesale sales rebounded in July, spurred on by a turnaround in automotive sales, as well as healthy demand for machinery, and personal and household goods.
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Wholesalers sold an estimated&nbsp ; $44.1&nbsp ; billion worth of goods in July, a&nbsp ; 2.0% gain over June, surpassing the previous record high reached in March.
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The key automotive products sector led the way with a&nbsp ; 4.9% gain on the back of strong demand for motor vehicles. July also proved to be a good month for wholesalers of personal and household goods (+4.0%), machinery and electronic equipment (+2.8%), and building materials (+1.3%). Sales excluding the automotive sector rose&nbsp ; 1.3% in July.
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Source: Statistics Canada

Manufacturing shipments rebounded from a sharp&nbsp ; 2.0% drop in June, gaining&nbsp ; 2.3% to&nbsp ; $50.0&nbsp ; billion in July, the highest level since March. Most of the strength in July came from a return to more normal shipment levels by motor vehicle manufacturers following a sharp decrease in June.

Manufacturing shipments have been heavily influenced by fluctuations in the transportation equipment industry over the past several months. Excluding the motor vehicle and parts industries, shipments advanced&nbsp ; 0.4% in July for the fifth gain in the last six months.

Using constant dollars, which take price fluctuations into account, the volume of manufacturing shipments increased&nbsp ; 4.3% to&nbsp ; …