Canadian wholesale sales fell 0.6% to $40.3 billion in April, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.

“Lower sales in the building materials sector and the machinery and electronic equipment sector were the main factors contributing to the decrease,” the government agency said.

In terms of the volume of sales, wholesale sales were up 0.5%. This was the first increase since September 2008, StatsCan said.

Four of the seven sectors, accounting for two-thirds of total wholesale sales, declined in April.

Sales in the building materials sector fell 2.9%, with every trade group in the sector down: metal products (down 4.7%), lumber and millwork (down 2.5%) and building supplies (down 2.3%).

Sales in the machinery and electronic equipment sector decreased 1.2%, reflecting a 4% drop in the computers and other electronic equipment trade group.

The largest increase in sales came in the automotive products sector, which rose for a third straight month in April.

Sales by automotive wholesalers totalled $5.5 billion, up 1.4%. Sales of motor vehicles (up 2.4%) led the upward movement in the automotive products sector, as sales of motor vehicle parts dropped 1.1% during the month.

Wholesale sales were down in eight provinces. There were increases in Newfoundland and Labrador (up 2.1%), British Columbia (up 1.2%) and all of the territories.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan posted large declines in April, with sales down six% and 3.2% respectively.

In Ontario and Quebec, which account for about 70% of Canada’s total wholesale sales, there were declines of 0.3% and 0.4% respectively.

Wholesale inventories fell for a second straight month (by 1.3%) to $57.8 billion in April, the largest decrease since October 2003. Overall, 12 of the 15 wholesale trade groups reported lower inventory levels.

IE