Wholesale trade, June 2023

Released: 2023-08-16

Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) fell 2.8% to $80.5 billion in June, following an increase in May—which was the largest since June 2020. A decline in sales was reported in the majority of the subsectors. The decrease in sales was led by the miscellaneous, the machinery, equipment and supplies, and the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsectors, following a surge of sales in these subsectors in May. Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) were down 0.4% compared with June 2022.

Petroleum products as well as oilseed and grain data continue to be available in data tables but will be excluded from monthly analysis until historical data are available for monthly and annual analysis.

Constant dollar sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) fell 3.7% in June 2023.

Chart 1 
Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) decrease in June

Lower sales in the miscellaneous subsector lead the wholesale sales decline in June

Sales in the miscellaneous subsector fell by 7.3% to $10.3 billion in June. Despite four of seven industry groups reporting a monthly increase, the decline of sales of the agricultural products industry group impacted the overall subsector movement. The agricultural products industry group fell 19.4% to $3.3 billion in June after a surge of sales in May where agricultural supply wholesalers confirmed delivery of multiple orders and an increased seasonal demand for products.

The machinery, equipment and supplies subsector (-4.2% to $17.8 billion) also contributed to the wholesale sector decline in June, following an increase in May—the largest since June 2020. Despite a majority of the industry groups reporting a decline of monthly sales in June 2023, it was predominantly the other machinery, equipment and supplies industry group (-8.9% to $4.2 billion) and the construction, forestry, mining, and industrial machinery, equipment and supplies industry group (-6.0% to $5.9 billion) that drove the downward movement. As reported in May, there was a surge of sales in both industry groups due to higher-than-expected demand for equipment.

The third subsector that contributed to the monthly sector decline in June was the motor vehicle, parts and accessories subsector (-3.1% to $13.2 billion). The motor vehicles industry group led the subsector movement, down 4.3% to $10.6 billion in June. The drop in sales followed a record high in May for this subsector.

Alberta leads provincial decline in sales

Sales decreased in the majority of provinces in June, led by lower sales in Alberta, followed by Saskatchewan and Ontario.

Wholesale sales in Alberta fell 14.3% to $8.5 billion in June. Sales dropped in all seven subsectors, with the largest decrease coming from the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector (-18.9% to $2.9 billion), followed by the miscellaneous subsector (-29.1% to $1.0 billion).

Sales in Saskatchewan decreased by 15.7% to $3.0 billion in June, with the miscellaneous subsector taking the lead, down 25.6% to $1.3 billion.

Sales in Ontario (-0.7% to $42.1 billion) also contributed to the provincial decrease in June. This decline was mainly due to the building material and supplies subsector (-3.8% to $4.9 billion).

Inventories fall in June

Wholesale inventories (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) fell 1.2% to $127.7 billion in June, the third decline of 2023.

A decrease of inventories was reported in four of the seven subsectors in June, led by the machinery, equipment, and supplies subsector (-2.6% to $36.9 billion), followed by the building material and supplies subsector (-2.0% to $23.3 billion).

The inventory-to-sales ratio increased from 1.54 in May to 1.59 in June. This ratio is a measure of the time (in months) required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current levels.

Wholesale sales decline in the second quarter of 2023

In the second quarter, wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) decreased by 2.0% to $243.9 billion, mainly due to the drop in sales in June 2023.

The largest decline in quarterly sales came from the miscellaneous subsector, down 10.4% to $31.8 billion, followed by the food and beverage subsector (-3.0% to $44.5 billion).

Quarterly sales of the wholesale sector grew by 1.2% in the second quarter of 2023 when compared with the same quarter of 2022.

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).