Higher auto sales helped drive wholesale trade to a second straight monthly increase in July, Statistics Canada said Friday.

In current dollars, sales rose 2.8 per cent to $41.7 billion. In volume terms, sales were up 2.6 per cent, the fourth consecutive monthly increase.

Wholesale trade in the automotive sector increased 14.2 per cent to $6.8 billion in July, Statistics Canada said Friday. (Canadian Press)

Five of seven wholesale trade sectors saw growth during the month, with the two exceptions being farm products, and food, beverage and tobacco products.

Sales in the automotive sector increased 14.2 per cent to $6.8 billion in July, a sixth straight monthly advance. Despite the gain, sales in the sector remained 13.5 per cent below their July 2008 level.

The strength across a variety of sectors was echoed geographically, as eight provinces saw wholesale sales rise in July. The two exceptions were New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.

In addition to increasing sales, wholesale inventories were lower for the fifth straight month, losing 0.5 per cent to $56.3 billion in July. Overall, 11 of the 15 wholesale trade groups reported lower inventory levels.

The uptick in sales, coupled with the decrease in inventories, translated into a drop in the inventory-to-sales ratio — a measure of the time in months required to exhaust supplies at current levels. It fell from 1.40 in June to 1.35 in July.