Statistics Canada reports wholesale sales rise 1.0% to US$83.7B in October; motor vehicle sector leads growth with 3.2% increase to US$14.8B

Released: 2024-12-13

Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) rose 1.0% to $83.7 billion in October. Sales increased in six of the seven subsectors, representing 87.8% of total wholesale sales. The largest increases came from the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector (+3.2%) and the building material and supplies subsector (+2.8%). The increase in wholesale sales was tempered by a decline in the agriculture supplies industry group (-9.8%). Wholesale sales were 1.7% higher in October, compared with the same month one year earlier.

In volume terms, wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) increased 0.4% in October.

Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories lead sales increases in October

For a second consecutive month, sales in the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector showed an increase, rising 3.2% to $14.8 billion in October. The increase was driven by sales in the motor vehicle industry group (+5.0% to $12.1 billion).

The building material and supplies subsector posted the second-largest increase in October, with sales up 2.8% to $12.0 billion. The lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies industry group (+4.5% to $5.9 billion) drove the increase.

The increase in wholesale sales in October was tempered by a decline in the miscellaneous subsector (-4.1% to $10.2 billion), with the agriculture supplies industry group (-9.8% to $3.1 billion) being the largest contributor to the decline.

British Columbia leads provincial sales increase

In October, most provinces saw an increase in wholesale sales, with British Columbia (+3.3%) leading the way, followed by Ontario (+0.5%).

British Columbia recorded gains in five of the seven subsectors in October, with the machinery, equipment, and supplies subsector posting the largest increase (+8.6% to $1.6 billion).

Ontario saw the second-largest increase in provincial wholesale sales, rising 0.5% to $43.3 billion in October. Sales increased in three of the seven subsectors, with the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector leading the gains (+4.0% to $10.2 billion) followed by the building materials and supplies subsector (+5.9% to $5.1 billion).

Inventories unchanged in October

Wholesale inventories (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) were unchanged from September at $128.6 billion in October. Inventory gains in five of the seven subsectors were offset by a decrease in the remaining two.

In October, the largest increase in inventories came from the building materials and supplies subsector (+1.5% to $22.5 billion), in which inventory levels were largely pushed up by the metal service centres industry group (+5.0% to $6.4 billion).

Inventory declines in the personal and household goods (-1.8% to $20.5 billion) and motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories (-1.0% to $17.8 billion) subsectors offset the growth in the other subsectors in October.

The inventory-to-sales ratio decreased from 1.55 in September to 1.54 in October. 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 Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.

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 and provide information on longer-term movements, including changes in direction underlying 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).

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