Singapore’s total domestic wholesale sales grew by 12.4% y-o-y in the 3Q2022. The expansion was attributable to the growths registered by most of the wholesale trade industries during the quarter.
Excluding petroleum, domestic wholesale sales grew by 11.9% y-o-y.
On a y-o-y basis, ship chandlers and bunkering led the growth with a 36.7% increase. This was followed by a 25.3% y-o-y growth in household equipment and furniture. A 20.6% y-o-y growth in the chemicals & chemicals products rounded up the top three contributors in the 3Q2022.
According to the Department of Statistics Singapore (Singstat), the higher domestic sales of the ship chandlers & bunkering and the chemicals & chemicals products industries was due largely to the higher prices of petrochemical products and bunker fuel.
The increase in household equipment and furniture was attributed to the increased demand for audio and video equipment.
At the same time, the transport equipment industry contracted by 6.3% due to lower demand for motor vehicles, while domestic sales of the general wholesale trade industry fell by 7.3% y-o-y.
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On a seasonally adjusted q-o-q basis, Singapore’s domestic wholesale sales fell by 4.0%. Excluding petroleum, domestic sales fell 3.2% from the previous quarter.
During the 3Q2022, household equipment & furniture led the growth with a 10.5% q-o-q increase, due to higher sales of audio and video equipment.
The industrial & construction machinery industry came in second in terms of q-o-q growth with a 7.7% increase.
The chemicals & chemical products industry experienced the largest q-o-q drop at 28.1% due to lower demand and a moderation in prices of petrochemicals. The telecommunications & computers and transport equipment industries, which fell 5.6% and 5.3% q-o-q respectively, rounded up the top three drops in the 3Q.
Singapore’s foreign wholesale sales grew by 31.0% y-o-y in the 3Q2022 as global prices of crude oil and petroleum products remained high. Excluding petroleum, foreign wholesale sales rose by 11.9% y-o-y.
During the 3Q, most wholesale trade industries saw y-o-y increases led by foreign sales of the petroleum & petroleum products and ship chandlers & bunkering industries. The petroleum & petroleum products industry rose by 55.2% y-o-y while the ship chandlers & bunkering industries rose by 52.8% y-o-y. The growths were due to the higher global prices of crude oil and petroleum products.
The transport equipment industry expanded by 33.0% as a result of higher external demand for motor vehicles, while the other wholesale trade industry grew by 30.5%, attributed partly to higher sales of agricultural and pharmaceutical products.
Meanwhile, foreign sales of the food, beverages & tobacco industry was the only industry to see a y-o-y decline at 7.8%. This was attributed to the lower demand for food products. The general wholesale trade industry also contracted by 6.5% y-o-y.
On a seasonally adjusted q-o-q basis, foreign wholesale sales inched up by 0.9%. Excluding petroleum, however, foreign wholesale sales fell 1.8% from the previous quarter.
In this time, the telecommunications & computers industry saw the highest q-o-q increase at 10.5% due to higher sales of computer hardware and accessories. The industrial & construction machinery industry also expanded by 7.4%.
In contrast, foreign sales of the metals, timber & construction materials and general wholesale trade industries fell by 10.9% and 15.2% q-o-q respectively, due partly to lower demand for metals and metal ores.
