Key Takeaways
- Wholesale sales, excluding petroleum and grain, rose 0.7% to $92.5 billion in September — ahead of the 0.5% advance estimate.
- Machinery and equipment led the gain, with computer and communications equipment up 10.0%; motor vehicle sales rose for a seventh time this year.
- Building material sales fell 2.9%, ending a run of eight straight monthly increases.
A better month than the early read suggested
Canada's wholesale market is moving at two speeds
Canadian wholesalers posted a better result in September than Statistics Canada had anticipated.
These figures exclude petroleum products and oilseed and grain, Statistics Canada's standard measure because of their price swings.
Wholesale sales, excluding petroleum products and oilseed and grain, rose 0.7% to $92.5 billion. That slightly exceeded the 0.5% advance estimate.
Sales increased in five of seven subsectors and are now 7.8% higher than a year earlier.
But there's a catch.
In real terms, wholesale sales declined 0.2%. The headline showed growth. The volume numbers told a quieter story.
Machinery drives the gain, building materials slow down
The strongest segment was machinery, equipment and supplies, up 3.6% to $20.7 billion.
Within that segment, computer and communications equipment wholesalers jumped 10.0% to $6.5 billion, their largest increase since March, helped by new product releases.
Motor vehicle and parts sales also climbed, up 2.4% to $15.5 billion. The motor vehicles group has now increased seven times this year.
The weaker area was building material and supplies, down 2.9% to $13.6 billion, after eight straight monthly increases. Lumber and millwork fell 6.6%.
That decline is more of a pause than a collapse; it fits a housing sector that has not yet found its next sustained push.
Inventories stay steady, Ontario leads the country
Wholesale inventories rose just 0.2% to $141.9 billion, while the inventory-to-sales ratio eased to 1.53.
In other words, wholesalers weren't sitting on a growing pile of unsold goods.
Ontario, Canada's wholesale hub, posted the largest dollar increase: sales rose 0.9% to $48.4 billion, supported by machinery strength.
Saskatchewan recorded the largest percentage increase, up 9.8%.
Seven provinces grew. British Columbia was the notable exception, with sales falling 3.4%.
The Twikup Take
Wholesale sales sit upstream of everything consumers eventually buy. September's pattern — technology equipment and vehicles strong, building supplies pausing — fits an economy being carried by business investment and durable goods rather than housing.
September beat Statistics Canada's advance estimate, with gains spread across five of seven subsectors.
The headline showed growth. The volume figures still need watching.
Image: Illustrative image.