Wholesale trade, April 2026
Released: 2026-06-15
$89.3 billion
April 2026
0.6% 
(monthly change)
$479.3 million
April 2026
-6.4% 
(monthly change)
$111.6 million
April 2026
-1.0%
(monthly change)
$1,321.8 million
April 2026
3.9%
(monthly change)
$850.8 million
April 2026
-0.1%
(monthly change)
$15,923.5 million
April 2026
1.1%
(monthly change)
$46,450.6 million
April 2026
0.7%
(monthly change)
$2,136.0 million
April 2026
0.1%
(monthly change)
$4,021.6 million
April 2026
-2.1%
(monthly change)
$9,541.4 million
April 2026
-0.9%
(monthly change)
$8,416.2 million
April 2026
2.5%
(monthly change)
$18.6 million
April 2026
-11.5%
(monthly change)
$19.3 million
April 2026
-13.1%
(monthly change)
$15.2 million
April 2026
-9.3%
(monthly change)
Wholesale sales increase in April
Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) rose 0.6% to $89.3 billion in April. Sales increased in five of the seven subsectors, representing about 60% of total wholesale sales. The largest increases came from the building material and supplies subsector (+4.3% to $12.7 billion) and the mineral, ore and precious metal industry group (+15.7% to $1.0 billion). Wholesale sales were 6.3% higher in April 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) decreased 0.3% in April.
Chart 1
Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and oilseed and grain) increase in April
Building material and supplies subsector records largest increase
Sales in the building material and supplies subsector grew 4.3% to $12.7 billion in April, the fourth consecutive monthly increase. The gain in April was driven by the metal service centres industry group, which rose 14.1% to $2.3 billion. This industry group covers wholesalers of metal products, including iron and steel castings, metal pipes and rails, and various steel products. The increase in April came from stronger sales of steel products.
The mineral, ore and precious metal industry group posted the next-largest increase in April, with sales rising 15.7% to $1.0 billion. Sales of gold, zinc and bauxite contributed the most to the increase. Sales in April were 25.0% higher than they were in the same month one year earlier. This gain led the growth within the miscellaneous subsector, which rose 1.4% overall to $11.5 billion, with sales increasing in four industry groups.
The increase in wholesale sales in April was moderated by a decline in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector, which fell 1.2% to $19.3 billion. Notwithstanding this decrease, April 2026 was the second-highest month on record for sales of machinery, equipment and supplies. The computer and communications equipment and supplies industry group (-4.1% to $5.8 billion) drove this decrease.
Higher provincial wholesale sales led by Ontario and British Columbia
In April, five provinces recorded higher sales, led by Ontario and British Columbia.
Ontario posted the largest increase in sales, rising 0.7% to $46.5 billion in April. Higher sales in the non-agricultural chemical product and recyclable material industry groups generated the gain. These gains led the growth in the miscellaneous subsector, which rose 5.6% overall to $5.4 billion.
British Columbia posted the second-largest increase in provincial wholesale sales in April, rising 2.5% to $8.4 billion. Sales increased in five of the seven subsectors, with the building material and supplies subsector (+3.9% to $2.0 billion) reporting the largest increase.
Partially offsetting the growth in April was a decline in sales in Alberta (-0.9% to $9.5 billion), which reflects a 4.3% drop in sales of machinery, equipment and supplies.
In addition, sales in Saskatchewan fell 2.1% to $4.0 billion in April.
Wholesale inventories rise, driven by motor vehicles and building materials
Wholesale inventories (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) rose 1.1% to $139.9 billion in April.
Inventories increased in five of seven subsectors in April. The largest increase came from the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector (+4.4% to $18.8 billion), followed by the building material and supplies subsector (+3.5% to $23.7 billion).
The inventory-to-sales ratio increased from 1.56 to 1.57 in April. This ratio measures the number of months required to exhaust inventories if sales remain at current levels.
Note to readers
This content was created with the assistance of a generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool and refined and verified by Statistics Canada experts. To learn more about how we use AI responsibly, please visit the Trust Centre.
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 the page Seasonal adjustment: Concepts and interpretation, 2026.
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 and provide information on longer-term movements, including changes in direction underlying the series. For information on trend-cycle data, see the page Trend-cycle estimation: Concepts, interpretation, and calculation, 2026.
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 code 419).
Advance indicator
Statistics Canada will provide an advance estimate of sales in the wholesale trade sector for May 2026 on June 26.
Next release
Wholesale trade data for May 2026 will be released on July 15.
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).
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