Wholesale trade, November 2025

Released: 2026-01-15

Wholesale sales fall in November

Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) fell 1.8% in November to $84.4 billion. This is the second-largest decline in the past two years. The drop in sales reflected a steep decrease in sales in the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector. Excluding the automotive subsector, wholesale sales rose 0.1%.

Sales fell in four of seven subsectors, representing 44.5% of the wholesale trade sector (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain).

In volume terms, wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and oilseed and grain) fell 2.3%.

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

Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector declines

Wholesale sales of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts and accessories fell 11.5% in November to $12.9 billion. This is the lowest level since October 2022. In November 2025, declines in the subsector were widespread, with sales in both the motor vehicle (-14.6%) and the used motor vehicle parts and accessories (-26.9%) industry groups declining. However, sales in the new motor vehicle parts and accessories industry group, which makes up approximately one-fifth of the sector, rose 2.1%.

A 3.8% decline in sales by building material and supplies wholesalers also contributed to the overall decrease in wholesale sales. All industry groups in this subsector recorded a drop in sales, led by the electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning equipment and supplies industry group (-5.0%).

Partially offsetting these declines was an increase in sales in the food, beverage and tobacco subsector, rising 3.1% to $16.3 billion, their highest level on record. This increase reflected both higher prices and higher volumes in November. Year over year, sales in the food, beverage and tobacco subsector were up 7.6%.

Ontario leads decline in wholesale sales

Wholesale sales declined in four provinces in November, with Ontario and Quebec posting the largest decreases.

In Ontario, wholesale sales fell 3.9% to $42.5 billion. This decline was driven by the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector, which decreased strongly by 15.3% to $8.5 billion, its largest decline since April 2020. Sales in the building material and supplies subsector also declined in November 2025, down 8.5% to $4.6 billion.

In Quebec, wholesalers recorded a more modest decline of 0.7% in November, which was largely attributable to decreases in the building material and supplies subsector (-4.2% to $2.2 billion) and the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector (-4.0% to $1.9 billion).

Partially offsetting these declines was an increase in British Columbia, where wholesale sales rose 1.3% to $8.4 billion. Growth in the province was led by the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector, which increased 7.0% to $1.5 billion.

Inventories move higher

Inventories of wholesale goods rose 0.6% in November to $136.0 billion. Five of seven subsectors recorded higher inventories, led by the personal and household goods subsector (+3.2% to $23.0 billion). Partially offsetting the increase was a drop in building material and supplies inventories (-2.5% to $22.6 billion).

The inventory to sales ratio rose from 1.57 in October to 1.61 in November. The ratio is a measure of the number of months required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current levels.

Contact information

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