Wholesale sales fell for a second time in three months in June, pulled down by lower sales in the automotive sector, Statistics Canada said today.

Wholesale sales fell 0.6% in June as wholesalers sold $41.5 billion worth of goods and services.

Excluding the automotive sector, sales declined 0.3%.

Weak wholesale sales in the past months sharply curtailed the growth for the quarter ending in June compared to the previous two quarters, the government agency said.

Sales contracted in three of the seven sectors in June, accounting for approximately 49% of total sales. Decreases were registered in the automotive sector (-2.1%), the “other products” category (-2.3%) and the food, beverages and tobacco products sector (-0.8%). The sectors showing the largest gains were building materials (+0.6%) and farm products (+4.7%).

In constant dollars, wholesale sales declined 0.6% in June.

Sales for the quarter ending in June showed a lower growth rate than in the previous two quarters. In the second quarter, sales grew only 0.5% compared to increases of 2.9% and 2.5% in the previous two quarters.

Substantial declines in sales of lumber (-8.1%), motor vehicles (-2.2%) and office and professional equipment (-3.0%) explain in part the low growth in the second quarter. These three groups all recorded strong growth in the first quarter.

Wholesalers in the automotive sector were unable to hold onto all the gains made in May (+2.7%), with sales falling 2.1% to $8.2 billion in June, the fourth decline in five months.

Wholesale sales of motor vehicles fell 1.5% in June, a fourth decline in five months.

Wholesale sales of motor vehicle parts also declined in June (-5.1%). This drop more than offset the 4.2% increase in May.

After increases in the previous three months, sales of “other products” declined 2.3% in June. This decrease was attributable in part to weak sales of chemical products and some products relating to the agriculture industry.

After rising 1.2% in May, sales of building materials advanced 0.6% in June.