Wholesale trade, July 2025

Released: 2025-09-15

Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) rose 1.2% to $86.0 billion in July. Sales increased in four of the seven subsectors, which represent close to three-quarters of the wholesale trade sector. The largest increases came from the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector (+5.1%) and the building material and supplies subsector (+2.7%). Wholesale sales were 4.3% higher in July 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 July.

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

Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories sales increase in July

Sales in the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector increased 5.1% to $15.4 billion in July. The increase was driven by sales in the motor vehicle industry group (+5.9% to $12.4 billion).

The building material and supplies subsector posted the next-largest increase in July, with its sales rising 2.7% to $12.1 billion. Sales increased in all industry groups in the subsector. The lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies industry group (+2.7% to $5.9 billion) recorded the largest gain.

The increase in wholesale sales in July was moderated by a decline in the miscellaneous subsector (-1.5% to $10.7 billion). The mineral, ore and precious metals industry group drove this decrease.

Ontario leads provincial sales increase

In July, seven provinces recorded higher wholesale sales, led by Ontario and followed by Alberta.

For the third consecutive month, Ontario posted an increase in sales, up 1.5% to $44.7 billion in July. Higher sales were recorded in four of the seven subsectors, with the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector (+5.1% to $10.4 billion) driving the increase.

Alberta posted the second-largest increase in provincial wholesale sales in July, rising 2.6% to $9.5 billion. Sales increased in six of the seven subsectors, with the building materials and supplies subsector (+6.6% to $1.7 billion) reporting the largest increase.

Inventories increase in July

For the third consecutive month, wholesale inventories (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) posted an increase, up 0.6% to $132.6 billion in July.

Inventories increased in all seven subsectors in July. The largest increase came from the food, beverage and tobacco subsector (+2.2% to $14.8 billion), followed by the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector (+0.4% to $39.7 billion).

The inventory-to-sales ratio decreased from 1.55 in June to 1.54 in July. This ratio is a measure of the time (in months) required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current levels.

Contact information

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