KEY POINTS:
Seasonally adjusted total wholesale trade sales fell 1 per cent, or $219 million, in the September quarter, led by an 11.3 per cent fall in motor vehicle wholesaling.
Statistics New Zealand said yesterday that the fall in vehicle sales amounted to $179 million, taking the industry to a similar level to that last seen six years ago.
It was the largest recorded sales fall since the series started in 1995, and the fourth consecutive quarterly slide for the vehicle industry.
The next largest contributors were petroleum product (down 6.9 per cent or $160 million) and primary product food (down 3.3 per cent or $69 million) .
Overall, half of the 16 wholesale industries in the survey had lower sales in the September quarter.
Of the eight industries to record increases, the largest was in unprocessed primary products, up 5.6 per cent ($99 million).
The total sales trend continued to increase, but had shown signs of easing in recent quarters.
For motor vehicle wholesaling, the trend had been declining for the past four quarters, and was down 18 per cent since the September 2007 quarter.
- NZPA
