Wholesale revenues continued to advance in Alberta for the second straight month and led the gains nationally.

Seasonally adjusted sales climbed $168 million (+2.0%) to reach a record high of $8.7 billion in April, surpassing the previous peak set in January by $266 million (+3.1%).

Five out of seven sub-groups posted gains and were led by machinery, equipment and sales, which attained a new peak with a robust 6.8% monthly increase. Meanwhile, revenues of motor vehicles and parts (-6.5%) declined sharply but this was mostly offset by higher building material and supplies (+3.6%) sales.

Through the first four months of the year, unadjusted sales were up by $5.9 billion (+22.0%) relative to the same period in 2021. While every province posted year-to-date increases, Alberta stood second in line (in dollar terms) after Ontario.

It was a fairly lopsided story elsewhere in the country as seasonally-adjusted Canadian sales eased $410 million (-0.5%). Driven in part by lower imports of fertilizer from Russia, sales of agricultural supplies fell to a seven-month low in April.

Regionally, activity was down across six provinces on a monthly basis, with Quebec (-2.1%) posting the largest decline (in dollar terms).

Answer to the previous trivia question: According to Statistics Canada, there were 41,505 farms in Alberta in 2021.

Today’s trivia question: What percentage of Canada’s farms are located in Alberta?