Canada Wholesale Sales Drop 1.6% in August

By Robb M. Stewart

OTTAWA--Canadian wholesale trade pulled back in August, led by a drop in the sales of motor vehicles and parts.

Wholesale sales fell 1.6% from the month before to a seasonally adjusted 91.58 billion Canadian dollars, the equivalent of US$64.32 billion, Statistics Canada said Thursday. That was broadly in line with the data agency's advance estimate of sales dropping 1.5%, following a 0.4% rise the month before.

The volume of sales for the month declined 1.8%.

Compared with a year earlier, nominal wholesale sales were up 7.2%, while transactions on a volume basis were 1.5% 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.

Sales fell in five of the seven wholesale sectors tracked by Statistics Canada, accounting for roughly 71% of total trade.

The largest decline was in the automotive sector, where sales were down 3.8% from a month prior following six straight months of increases.

Sales of agricultural equipment also were down sharply, dropping 12.4% with a notable decline in potash.

Building materials and supplies moderated the broad weakness elsewhere, with sales rising for an eighth consecutive month, led by lumber, millwork, hardware and other supplies.

The value of wholesale inventories was little changed for the month at C$140.98 billion, with a reduction in stocks in the motor vehicles and parts industry and the food, beverage and tobacco sector.

Including sales by petroleum, oilseed and grain merchants, wholesale sales for August fell 1% between July and August to C$136.55 billion. Inventories on the same basis nudged up 0.2% to C$155.6 billion.

Statistics Canada previously estimated the economy was growing again in August, with advance data pointing to a 0.2% rise in industry-level gross domestic product from the month before, due to a recovery in mining and retail trade that offset further declines in oil and gas extraction. GDP in July was steady, snapping three straight months of expansion.

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

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October 15, 2026 09:23 ET (13:23 GMT)