Wholesale trade, January 2025
Released: 2025-03-14
$85.1 billion
January 2025
1.2%
(monthly change)
$518.5 million
January 2025
1.5%
(monthly change)
$114.1 million
January 2025
1.7%
(monthly change)
$1,239.1 million
January 2025
2.8%
(monthly change)
$794.7 million
January 2025
1.7%
(monthly change)
$15,365.1 million
January 2025
1.3%
(monthly change)
$43,636.0 million
January 2025
0.3%
(monthly change)
$1,988.6 million
January 2025
4.2%
(monthly change)
$3,570.1 million
January 2025
3.2%
(monthly change)
$9,291.9 million
January 2025
0.0%
(monthly change)
$8,553.8 million
January 2025
5.4%
(monthly change)
$15.5 million
January 2025
x
(monthly change)
$30.5 million
January 2025
-0.6%
(monthly change)
$12.7 million
January 2025
x
(monthly change)
Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) rose 1.2% to $85.1 billion in January. Sales increased in five of the seven subsectors, representing 77.6% of total wholesale sales. The largest increases came from the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector (+3.7%) and the building material and supplies subsector (+3.5%). Wholesale sales were 2.7% higher in January 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 0.8% in January.
Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories lead sales increases in January
For a second consecutive month, sales in the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector showed an increase, rising 3.7% to $14.9 billion in January. The increase was driven by sales in the motor vehicle industry group (+3.1% to $12.0 billion).
The building material and supplies subsector posted the second-largest increase in January, with sales up 3.5% to $12.4 billion. The lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies industry group (+5.5% to $6.2 billion) drove the increase.
The increase in wholesale sales in January was tempered by a decline in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector (-1.2% to $17.5 billion).
British Columbia leads provincial sales increase
In January, all provinces recorded an increase in wholesale sales, with British Columbia (+5.4%) leading the way, followed by Quebec (+1.3%).
British Columbia posted an increase of 5.4% to $8.6 billion in January. Gains were observed in four of the seven subsectors, with the building material and supplies subsector (+10.5% to $2.3 billion) posting the largest increase, followed by the food, beverage, and tobacco subsector (+11.5% to $1.8 billion).
Quebec saw the second-largest increase in provincial wholesale sales, rising 1.3% to $15.4 billion in January. Sales increased in five of the seven subsectors.
Ontario posted a modest increase of 0.3%, bringing wholesale sales to $43.6 billion in January. While six of the seven subsectors experienced a decrease in Ontario, the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector increased 5.4% to $10.2 billion, leading to the overall increase in the province's wholesale sales.
Inventories fall in January
Wholesale inventories (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) were down 0.1% to $127.7 billion in January.
Inventory decreases were recorded in two of the seven subsectors in January. The largest decrease came from the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector (-0.8% to $38.2 billion), which recorded its fourth decline in a row. Inventory declines were also recorded in the personal and household goods subsector (-1.1% to $21.2 billion).
Inventory gains in the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories (+1.4% to $17.5 billion) and the food, beverage and tobacco subsectors (+1.4% to $13.4 billion) moderated the decline in inventories in January.
The inventory-to-sales ratio decreased from 1.52 in December to 1.50 in January. This ratio is a measure of the time (in months) required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current levels.
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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).
Real-time data tables
Real-time data tables 20-10-0020-01 and 20-10-0005-01 will be updated soon.
Next release
Wholesale trade data for February will be released on April 14.
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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