The Canadian Press

Wholesale sales rose 0.7% to $42.8 billion in December, their sixth increase in seven months.

Statistics Canada reports the volume of wholesale sales grew 1.5%.

Six of seven sectors increased wholesale sales in December.

The only decrease was reported by wholesalers of personal and household goods, due to a decline in sales of pharmaceuticals.

The machinery and electronic equipment sector contributed the most to the growth with sales climbing 1.2% to $8.8 billion.

Machinery and equipment, whose sales depend largely on business investment, recorded three monthly increases in 2009, though they were still down 18.8% from December 2008.

The second highest increase in December took place in the “other products”’ sector, where sales rose 1.4%, their fourth straight increase.

The sector mainly includes wholesalers of fertilizer and agricultural supplies, chemicals, recycled materials and paper products.

The building materials and automotive products sectors also made significant contributions to December’s growth increases of 1.3% and 0.9%, respectively.

Wholesale sales rose in six provinces, with Alberta making the largest contribution to the national increase.