VANCOUVER, BC, Mar. 23, 2013/ Troy Media/ – B.C.’s retail spending growth moved in sync with the national performance in January, advancing 1 per cent from December to a seasonally-adjusted $5.12 billion, reversing the previous month’s slide.
Sales expanded in most retail sectors, led by higher motor vehicle and parts sales and a rebound in the building materials sector. Same-month sales were up 2.6 per cent from 2012, led by a 2.8 per cent gain in the Vancouver CMA.
January’s uptick was an encouraging sign following a holiday slump in December, but not enough to suggest a material improvement in consumer demand. Retail spending levels remained tempered and within the range observed through most of 2012 as consumers continued to hold back amidst a subdued labour market performance, housing market malaise, and broader economy uncertainty.
Once higher prices are factored in, B.C.’s retail sector likely recorded a drop in the unit volume of goods sold since early 2012, despite positive population growth. We expect retail sales growth will accelerate by about 4 per cent this year despite current weakness.
While employment and population growth will remain below average, growth in personal income and the shift back to a PST should provide a modest boost to the retail economy, particularly in the latter half of the year.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing sales in B.C. partially rebounded in January after stumbling in December. Sales rose to a seasonally-adjusted $3.19 billion, marking a 2.1 per cent increase from December and a 3 per cent gain from year-ago levels.
Year-over-year growth was led by wood-product manufacturing which increased 15 per cent and non-metallic mineral product manufacturing. In comparison, paper manufacturing was down 13 per cent.
Despite January’s rebound, activity crested in the third quarter and has since trended lower – coinciding with a slowdown in the broader exports and contributing in part to a decline in manufacturing employment.
Range-bound manufacturing sales over the past two years have remained more than 10 per cent below mid-decade levels. A rebound has been hindered by a challenging export economy and the elevated Canadian dollar.
| Central 1 Credit Union
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comment will appear after moderation before publishing,
Thank you for your comments.Any comment that could be considered slanderous or includes unacceptable language will be removed.
Thank you for participating and making your opinions known.
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.