Canada Wholesale Sales Rise 0.6% in September, a Sixth Increase in Last Nine Months

By Robb M. Stewart

OTTAWA--Canadian wholesale trade recovered in September, pushing sales for the third quarter to the highest on record despite lingering trade uncertainty.

Wholesale sales rose 0.6% from the month before to a seasonally adjusted 85.90 billion Canadian dollars, the equivalent of $61.21 billion, Statistics Canada said Friday. The figure was stronger than the data agency's advance estimate sales for a slight decline following August's 1.0% drop in sales.

With the advance in September trade, a sixth rise in nine months, wholesale sales for the third quarter rose 0.2% over the previous record set in the first three months of the year when companies were stockpiling goods in anticipation of the Trump administration's tariffs.

In price-adjusted terms or volume terms, sales in September were up 0.6% from a month earlier.

Compared with a year earlier, nominal wholesale sales 4.0%, while transactions on a volume basis were 2.1% higher, the data agency said.

Wholesalers--the largest component of Canada's services sector--connect farmers or manufacturers that produce goods with companies and public institutions that use them. They also import goods from other countries and redistribute them within Canada.

Five of the seven wholesale sectors tracked by the statistics agency posted higher sales in the latest month, led by a 1.6% increase in food, beverage and tobacco trade.

Sales of building materials and supplies also rose, hitting the highest level in seven months, and trade by motor vehicle and parts merchants were up for the month but down on a year earlier. Sales of minerals, ore and precious metals jumped more than 20% for a second month straight, reflecting the strong price for key commodities including gold.

The value of wholesale inventories dropped 0.2% during September to C$135.11 billion, led by declines in building materials and supplies.

Including sales by petroleum, oilseed and grain merchants--the headline measure Statistics Canada is transitioning to--wholesale sales for September were little changed from the month before at C$146.66 billion. Inventories on the same basis also were down only slightly, to C$146.66 billion.

Canada's manufacturers and other trade-exposed industries have been particularly hard hit this year by President Trump's trade policy and changing tariffs, but had been showing signs of steadying in recent months. Trump recently cut off trade talks with Canada and threatened an additional 10% tariff on the country. In addition to sector-specific tariffs on goods including aluminum and steel, American tariffs on Canada currently stand at 35%, with energy products at 10%, though goods that comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement are exempt from the duties.

The Bank of Canada has forecast economic growth will average a weak 0.75% annualized in the second half of the year, held back by weak export volumes, uncertainty and Ottawa's efforts to slow immigration.

Gross domestic product contracted a sharper-than-expected 0.3% in August from the month before, while an advance estimate indicates activity edged up 0.1% in September. That would leave the economy tracking growth of 0.4% on an annualized basis for the third quarter, an only modest expansion but a rebound after shrinking 1.6% annualized in the second quarter.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

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November 14, 2025 09:26 ET (14:26 GMT)