After reaching a record high in January, Alberta’s seasonally adjusted wholesale revenue ticked down by $127 million (-1.5%) to $8.3 billion in February.

Merchant wholesale sales eased in four of seven sub-sectors with machinery, equipment and supplies posting the largest decrease at -2.7%. After a big jump in January, building material and supplies revenue also fell and overshadowed upticks in the sales of farm and miscellaneous products.

On an unadjusted basis, however, wholesale trade sales in Alberta were up by $2.9 billion (+24.8%) over the first two months of 2022. Sales were higher across all major sub-categories during this timeframe with construction, forestry, mining and industrial machinery equipment sales driving over a quarter of the total growth.

After accounting for seasonal factors, national wholesale trade slipped $320 million (-0.4%) and posted the first monthly decline in seven months with weaker sales in six provinces in February. On an unadjusted year-to-date basis, revenue remained up by $17.6 billion (+14.9%) with nearly two-thirds of the gain coming from central Canada.

Answer to the previous trivia question: The RMS Titanic sank on its maiden voyage during the early hours of April 15, 1912.

Today’s trivia question: How many countries are members of The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)?