Canadian wholesale sales rose 1.1% in August, building on a 0.6% gain in July.

Overall, sales are up 5.6% from a year earlier. RBC Financial Group economists say that the result is above expectations and are “demonstrating what happens when the economy adds 425,000 new jobs since the start of the year. Hot demand for consumer durables led to heightened wholesale activity in motor vehicles and strong gains in household goods. Food and industrial machinery were also up.”

RBC also notes that wholesale inventories rose 0.3%, which makes the fifth rise in a row. “The data again demonstrates that Canada’s economy was, and still is, operating at a significantly higher level of activity than that of the United States. Although momentum has likely eased a bit in the second half, the degree of out-performance will still remain large,” say RBC economists.