Wholesale trade, December 2025

Released: 2026-02-17

Wholesale sales rise in December

Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) increased 2.0% in December to $86.1 billion, following a decline in November. The rise in sales reflected an increase in sales in the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector. Excluding the automotive subsector, wholesale sales rose 0.6%.

Sales rose in four of seven subsectors, representing about two-thirds of the wholesale sector (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain).

Volumes of wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and oilseed and grain) rose 2.1%.

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

Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector increases

Wholesale sales of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts and accessories rose 9.3% in December to $14.3 billion, after posting a steep decrease in November. Gains were widespread within the subsector, with the motor vehicle industry group (+11.3%) contributing the most to the increase. Despite the increase in December, sales in the automotive subsector were 0.2% lower than they were in the same month the previous year. The increase in December followed semiconductor chip shortages that affected automotive production in October and November.

Miscellaneous wholesalers increased sales by 6.8%, led by sales in the mineral, ore and precious metal industry group, which rose 85.6% to reach $1.5 billion, their highest level on record. The gain in this industry group came amid a sharp increase in prices and demand for precious metals as well as minerals.

Partially offsetting these increases was a 3.4% decline in sales in the food, beverage and tobacco subsector to $15.7 billion. The decline was mainly concentrated in the food (-3.2%) and the beverage (-6.7%) industry groups. Year over year, sales in the food, beverage and tobacco subsector were up 3.7%.

Ontario leads provincial sales increase

In December, five provinces reported higher wholesale sales, led by Ontario and Quebec.

Ontario led the provincial wholesale sales gains in December, rising 3.6% to $44.0 billion. Sales increased in five of the seven subsectors, with the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector (+13.6% to $9.9 billion) leading the gains.

Quebec's increase was the second largest, with provincial sales rising 3.7% to $15.6 billion in December. Sales increased in four out of the seven subsectors, led by the machinery, equipment and supplies (+15.8% to $2.9 billion) and the personal and household goods (+8.5% to $3.6 billion) subsectors.

Conversely, wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) in Alberta fell 1.6% to $9.5 billion. Sales decreased in five of the seven subsectors, with the building material and supplies subsector (-6.5% to $1.7 billion) posting the largest decline.

Inventories increase in December

Wholesale inventories (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) were up 0.6% to $136.8 billion in December. Overall, five of seven subsectors recorded higher inventories, led by the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories (+2.2% to $18.9 billion) and the building materials and supplies (+1.4% to $22.9 billion) subsectors.

The inventory-to-sales ratio fell from 1.61 in November to 1.59 in December. 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 up in 2025

Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) were $1.024 trillion in 2025, a 2.9% increase over 2024. On an annual basis, sales increased in all seven subsectors.

The largest increase came from the food, beverage and tobacco subsector, where sales increased by 6.1% to $187.8 billion in 2025. The increase was driven by the food industry (+6.1% to $166.7 billion). About half the gain in the food industry reflects higher volumes of product sold and half reflects higher prices. Sales were also up in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector (+2.5%).

Contact information

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