Wholesale trade increases in Saskatchewan according to federal report

Watch above: Saskatchewan’s wholesale trade numbers are in and they are holding steady. Joel Senick finds out what the impact is and how long the experts say it will last.

SASKATOON – Saskatchewan’s wholesale trade is up almost 10 per cent compared to last year, according to a Statistics Canada report released Monday, and a growing population could be one reason why. Wholesale trade has declined slightly in the past five months, but still increased roughly 9.8 per cent from this May compared to last, according to the report.

The sector of the economy encompasses goods that are purchased in large numbers and sold to retailers or groups, not a final consumer.

“The figures for May are very encouraging,” said Bill Boyd, Saskatchewan’s minister of economy, in a statement.

“More jobs and more people than ever before are other economic indicators which are helping Saskatchewan continue to grow.”

READ MORE: New population record for Saskatchewan

Greg Hoiness is one person who says he agrees that population growth has contributed to the increase in wholesale trade. He sells tires with Saskatoon-based Arrow Tire Distributors and says the company has grown roughly eight per cent in the past year.

“Increased population has been a big thing for us,” said Hoiness at one of its three Saskatoon warehouse locations.

“We’re in the tire business obviously, so more wheels on the road, more sales for us,” he added.

Arrow’s growth has allowed the company to add an additional warehouse in Saskatoon and open a new location in Regina. It’s also led to the hiring of new employees, according to Hoiness.

“If the population keeps increasing or even stays plateaued, I think we’re going to see another good increase hopefully again,” he said.

At least one expert is issuing words of caution in regards to the report released Monday. University of Saskatchewan economics professor Joel Bruneau said the increase shows Saskatchewan has “had a good run,” but cautioned against looking at past numbers to predict the future.

“Looking at the past data and forecasting that forward as everything’s hunky dory, that might be premature because we have to see how the oil sector, how the commodity  sector is responding over the next year,” said Bruneau.

READ MORE: Saskatchewan’s inflation rate hits 1.9% in June

However, Bruneau said that if wholesale trade does continue to grow in Saskatchewan, its diversified economy will be a big reason why.

“If you think of this as a twelve cylinder engine, some of the, some of the cylinders are still doing really well, other cylinders aren’t doing quite as well,” said Bruneau.