(Ottawa) Sales by Canadian wholesalers soared to an all-time high in October, fueled by sales increases in the auto sector as a number of manufacturers managed to source semiconductor chips despite the shortage, said Thursday Statistics Canada.
Wholesale sales rose 1.4% to 72.5 billion in October, the federal agency said. It was the strongest sales on record in a month, as well as the sixth increase in the past eight months.
Five of the seven subsectors studied by Statistics Canada posted increases in October.
Sales of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts and accessories led the gains, advancing 7.1% to $ 10.8 billion.
Higher sales of lumber and other building materials helped boost sales of building materials and supplies, which rose 1.9% in October to $ 11.4 billion.
The miscellaneous sub-sector posted sales up 1.9% to a total of $ 10.6 billion.
Expressed in constant dollars, wholesale sales rose 0.6% in October, Statistics Canada added.