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This article was published 21/3/2017 (1277 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s wholesale industry posted a 2.6 per cent increase in sales for the first month of 2017.

Statistics Canada said Monday that local wholesalers sold $1.474 billion worth of goods in January, compared to $1.44 billion in December.

January’s total was also a slight improvement from a year earlier, when $1.473 billion worth of goods were sold.

Manitoba was one of six provinces to see a month-over-month increase in wholesale sales in January. Its gain was the third largest among the six, but below the national average.

The automotive sector helped Canadian wholesale sales beat expectations and hit a record in January, another sign of gathering strength in the economy.

Statistics Canada said wholesale sales climbed 3.3 per cent to $59.1 billion in January, the largest monthly percentage gain since November 2009.

Economists had expected a gain of 0.5 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.

"The auto sector drove wholesaling crazy in January, enough for at least some eyebrows to be raised at what is typically seen as a second-tier Canadian economic indicator," CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld wrote in a brief report.

In volume terms, wholesale sales increased 3.4 per cent. The data follow recent stronger-than-expected results for manufacturing sales, trade and job creation in Canada. Retail trade figures for January are expected Tuesday and inflation figures for February are set to be released Friday.

Wholesale sales were up in four of seven subsectors, led by the motor vehicle and parts group. It grew by 17.1 per cent to $11.9 billion, the largest gain in dollar terms and its first increase in three months.

— staff / The Canadian Press