7 Mar 2013

Wholesale trade sales up

12:33 pm on 7 March 2013

Wholesale trade sales rose in the three months to December driven by growth in sales in the machinery and equipment and basic material wholesaling industries.

Official figures show sales rose a seasonally adjusted 1.9% in the December quarter, compared with a fall of 0.2% in the previous quarter.

The data measures activity in the wholesale trade sector, which supplies retailers.

The largest increase was in the machinery and equipment wholesaling sector, which includes businesses selling consumer electronics, computers and specialised products, as well as farming and construction machinery. It was up 4.1%.

Basic material wholesaling, which covers businesses selling agricultural supplies and products, as well as building supplies and raw materials, had the second-largest increase, up 3.8%.