Wholesale sales in Canada grew 2.4% to C$83.3B in April, led by the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector; inventories fell 0.5% to C$126.3B: Statistics Canada

OTTAWA , June 14, 2024 (press release) –

Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) grew 2.4% to $83.3 billion in April. Sales increased in five of the seven subsectors, led by the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector and the miscellaneous subsector. Wholesale sales were 3.4% higher in April compared with the same month one year earlier.

In volume terms, wholesale sales increased by 2.0% in April.

Chart 1: Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and oilseed and grain) increase in April

Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories lead sales increases in April
Following a decline in March, sales in the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector increased by 10.2% to $14.6 billion in April, the highest reported sales since November 2023. Sales grew in all three of the subsector's industry groups in April 2024, led by the motor vehicles industry group (+12.4% to $11.8 billion).

The miscellaneous subsector also contributed to higher wholesale sales, up 5.1% to $10.6 billion in April. Sales increased in five of the seven industry groups, led by the agriculture supplies industry group (+6.9% to $3.6 billion), which was up following two monthly declines.

Ontario leads the way in provincial sales growth
In April, a majority of the provinces reported increases in wholesale sales, led by Ontario.

Wholesale sales in Ontario rose 2.1% to $43.0 billion in April, following three consecutive months of declines. While sales declined in four of the seven subsectors, the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector's notable growth (+11.7% to $10.1 billion) was the driving force behind the province's increase in April.

Alberta saw the second-largest provincial sales growth in April, up 6.2% to $9.4 billion, also following a decline in March. In April, six of the seven subsectors reported sales increases, led by the machinery, equipment and supplies (+4.6% to $3.2 billion) as well as the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories (+17.1% to $948.4 million) subsectors.

Inventories fall in April
Wholesale inventories were down 0.5% to $126.3 billion in April, after a 0.4% uptick in March.

In April, four of the seven subsectors recorded declines, led by the building material and supplies subsector (-2.8% to $21.6 billion), as all its industry groups posted declines. Inventory levels in this subsector sat 11.1% below their level from one year earlier. Declines were also reported in the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector (-3.4% to $16.1 billion).

Inventory increases in the food, beverage and tobacco (+3.5% to $14.1 billion) and the personal and household goods (+2.1% to $21.0 billion) subsectors tempered the decline in April.

The inventory-to-sales ratio fell from 1.56 in March to 1.52 in April. This ratio is a measure of the time (in months) required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current levels.

Note to readers
Wholesale (sales and inventories) values exclude petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and oilseed and grain unless otherwise stated.

Petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and oilseed and grain data continue to be available in data tables but will be excluded from monthly analysis until historical data are available.

All data in this release are seasonally adjusted and expressed in current dollars unless otherwise noted.

Seasonally adjusted data are data that have been modified to eliminate the effect of seasonal and calendar influences to allow for more meaningful comparisons of economic conditions from period to period. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Section 2: Issues related to analysis and interpretation.

Trend-cycle estimates are included in selected charts as a complement to the seasonally adjusted series. These data represent a smoothed version of the seasonally adjusted time series (see Section 1: Concepts and definitions) and provide information on longer-term movements, including underlying changes in direction in the series. For information on trend-cycle data, see Trend-cycle estimates – Frequently asked questions.

Both seasonally adjusted data and trend-cycle estimates are subject to revision as additional observations become available. These revisions could be large and could even lead to a reversal of movement, especially for reference months near the end of the series or during periods of economic disruptions.

Total wholesale sales expressed in volume are calculated by deflating current dollar values using relevant price indexes. The wholesale sales series in chained (2012) dollars is a chained Fisher volume index, with 2012 as the reference year. For more information, see the publication "Deflation of wholesale sales."

The Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey covers all industries within the wholesale trade sector, as defined by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), with the exception of business-to-business electronic markets, and agents and brokers (NAICS 419).

Real-time data tables
Real-time data tables 20-10-0019-01, 20-10-0020-01 and 20-10-0005-01 will be updated soon.

Next release
Wholesale trade data for May will be released on July 15.

Products
The product "Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey: Interactive Tool" (Catalogue number71-607-X) is available online. This product is based on the data published in the tables of the Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey: 20-10-0074-01, 20-10-0076-01 and 20-10-0003-01.

Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).

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