Wholesale trade, May 2024
Released: 2024-07-15
$82.2 billion
May 2024
-0.8% 
(monthly change)
$475.5 million
May 2024
1.0% 
(monthly change)
$114.8 million
May 2024
-4.0%
(monthly change)
$1,226.4 million
May 2024
0.1%
(monthly change)
$794.1 million
May 2024
-3.7%
(monthly change)
$14,451.5 million
May 2024
-1.3%
(monthly change)
$43,151.4 million
May 2024
0.5%
(monthly change)
$1,667.6 million
May 2024
-13.5%
(monthly change)
$3,480.9 million
May 2024
-2.9%
(monthly change)
$9,233.8 million
May 2024
-1.2%
(monthly change)
$7,556.1 million
May 2024
-1.8%
(monthly change)
x
May 2024
x
(monthly change)
$37.2 million
May 2024
7.9%
(monthly change)
x
May 2024
x
(monthly change)
Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) fell 0.8% to $82.2 billion in May. Sales declined in five of the seven subsectors, with the largest decline coming from the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector. Wholesale sales were 0.9% lower in May compared with the same month one year earlier.
In volume terms, wholesale sales decreased by 0.8% in May.
Chart 1
Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and oilseed and grain) decrease in May
Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories taps the brakes in May
Following a large increase in April, sales in the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector decreased by 3.8% to $13.9 billion in May. Sales fell in all three industry groups in May, with the largest decline coming from motor vehicle merchant wholesalers (-4.4% to $11.2 billion). This is in line with lower sales of motor vehicles from Canadian manufacturers and a 7.1% decrease in imports of passenger cars and light trucks over the same period.
Sales in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector fell 0.4% to $17.9 billion in May, its first decline in the last five months. Two of its four industry groups registered declines; the computer and communications equipment and supplies industry group (-2.5% to $4.9 billion) was the largest contributor to the decrease, followed by the farm, lawn and garden machinery and equipment industry group (-2.8% to $2.8 billion).
After last month's rise, the miscellaneous subsector declined 0.5% to $10.4 billion in May, as four out of its seven industry groups were down.
Manitoba at the forefront of sales declines
In May, a majority of the provinces reported a decrease in wholesale sales, with the largest decline being in Manitoba, followed by Quebec.
Wholesale sales in Manitoba fell 13.5% to $1.7 billion in May, following April's uptick, registering its fourth decline since the beginning of the year. Sales dropped in six of the seven subsectors in May, driven by the miscellaneous (-18.0% to $288.7 million) and the machinery, equipment and supplies (-14.3% to $377.3 million) subsectors.
Sales in Quebec decreased by 1.3% to $14.5 billion in May, marking the province's third straight drop. Five of the seven subsectors recorded declines, with the largest contributions coming from the machinery, equipment and supplies (-5.0% to $2.5 billion) and motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories (-5.2% to $1.8 billion) subsectors.
In contrast, sales in Ontario (+0.5% to $43.2 billion) increased for the second consecutive month in May, as six out of the seven subsectors posted gains. The increase was driven by the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector (+1.8% to $8.8 billion). The motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector (-2.5% to $9.8 billion) was the sole subsector to decrease and significantly mitigated growth in the province.
Inventories grow in May
Wholesale inventories increased 0.9% to $127.8 billion in May.
Inventories increased in four of the seven subsectors in May, led by the machinery, equipment, and supplies subsector (+1.3% to $39.3 billion), as all four industry groups were up. The building material and supplies subsector (+2.1% to $22.1 billion) also contributed to higher stocks, as two of its three industry groups increased.
The inventory-to-sales ratio increased from 1.53 in April to 1.55 in May. This ratio is a measure of the time (in months) required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current levels.
Did you know we have a mobile app?
Download our mobile app and get timely access to data at your fingertips! The StatsCAN app is available for free on the App Store and on Google Play.
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: Context, definitions and terminology) 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 June will be released on August 15.
The next release of wholesale trade data will incorporate annual revisions. Unadjusted monthly wholesale data will be revised back to January 2023, while seasonally adjusted data will be revised back to January 2020. Factors influencing revisions include the late receipt of respondent information, the correction of information in the data provided, the replacement of estimated figures with actual values (once available), the reclassification of companies within, into and out of the wholesale trade sector, and updates to seasonal factors.
Products
The product "Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey: Interactive Tool" (71-607-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).
- Date modified: