Canadian wholesalers reported a sharp decline in sales in December, erasing all of the gains made over the previous months. Despite the drop in December, preliminary figures indicate that wholesalers put in another solid performance in 2007.
 
Sales fell 2.9% in December to $42.7 billion, ending a string of three consecutive monthly increases. The decline was the largest since April and brought monthly sales to their lowest level since November 2006.

Overall, five out of seven wholesale sectors reported weaker sales in December. The automotive products sector accounted for around half of the overall decline, dropping 8.1% during the month.

Wholesalers outside of the automotive products sector fared little better, …