Wholesale trade, October 2023
Released: 2023-12-15
$81.7 billion
October 2023
-0.5% 
(monthly change)
$427.7 million
October 2023
+5.5% 
(monthly change)
$118.9 million
October 2023
+1.0%
(monthly change)
$1,113.3 million
October 2023
+0.7%
(monthly change)
$774.5 million
October 2023
+2.6%
(monthly change)
$15,120.7 million
October 2023
+3.2%
(monthly change)
$42,142.1 million
October 2023
-2.6%
(monthly change)
$2,019.5 million
October 2023
+0.6%
(monthly change)
$3,209.9 million
October 2023
+1.3%
(monthly change)
$9,110.0 million
October 2023
+3.6%
(monthly change)
$7,582.2 million
October 2023
-2.2%
(monthly change)
x
October 2023
x
(monthly change)
$38.3 million
October 2023
+6.2%
(monthly change)
x
October 2023
x
(monthly change)
Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) fell 0.5% to $81.7 billion in October. Sales declined in five of the seven subsectors, led by the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector and the food, beverage and tobacco subsector. On an annual basis, wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) were 2.1% lower in October compared with the same month a year earlier.
Petroleum products as well as oilseed and grain data continue to be available in data tables but will be excluded from monthly analysis until historical data are available for monthly and annual analysis.
In volume terms, wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) fell 0.7% in October.
Chart 1
Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) decrease in October
Lower sales in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector lead the decline of wholesale sales in October
Sales in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector decreased for the second consecutive month, down 1.6% in October to $17.7 billion. The decline of sales in the subsector was led by two main industry groups. The construction, forestry, mining, and industrial machinery, equipment and supplies industry group fell 3.6% to $6.0 billion, a result of companies completing shipments throughout the third quarter. The industry group reported a record sales level in August and has since seen its sales level decrease by over one-third. The computer and communications equipment and supplies industry group also reported a drop of sales in October (-2.9% to $5.0 billion) following two consecutive months of increases.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector also contributed to lower wholesale sales, down 1.1% to $14.9 billion in October. Despite two of the four industry groups reporting an increase in sales, it was the decline of sales of the food industry group (-1.3% to $13.1 billion) that led the subsector movement, reporting a monthly decrease of sales following strong growth in September.
The decrease in the wholesale sales sector was slightly offset by higher sales from the building material and supplies subsector, up 1.1% to $12.1 billion in October. The lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies industry group (+1.2% to $5.9 billion) and the electrical, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning equipment and supplies industry group (+1.8% to $3.9 billion) led the subsector movement.
Decline of provincial sales led by lower sales in Ontario
A decrease of wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) in October was led by Ontario and followed by British Columbia.
Wholesale sales in Ontario decreased by 2.6% to $42.1 billion in October. Declines in this province were reported in six of the seven subsectors, with the largest decrease being in the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector (-4.8% to $9.8 billion) following a substantial increase in September. Additionally, the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector was down 4.0% to $8.6 billion in Ontario.
The second largest provincial decline in sales was in British Columbia, down 2.2% to $7.6 billion in October. Lower sales were reported in six of the seven subsectors, led by the food, beverage and tobacco (-4.2% to $1.5 billion) and the miscellaneous (-6.5% to $876.9 million) subsectors.
Partially offsetting the decline in provincial sales was an increase from Quebec, up 3.2% to $15.1 billion in October. An increase in sales was reported in five of the seven subsectors, with the largest increase in the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories (+11.3% to $2.0 billion) and the personal and household goods (+5.9% to $3.3 billion) subsectors.
Inventories rise in October
Wholesale inventories (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) rose 1.1% to $129.3 billion in October, marking the largest monthly increase since February 2023.
Wholesale inventories bounced back in October, reaching levels similar to those reported in the first half of 2023. The increase of inventories in October was due to stronger inventories from five of the seven subsectors. The increase was led by the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector (+2.6% to $39.0 billion), followed by the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector (+2.3% to $17.5 billion).
The inventory-to-sales ratio increased from 1.52 in September to 1.58 in October. This ratio is a measure of the time (in months) required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current levels.
Note to readers
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 Section 2: Issues related to analysis and interpretation.
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 (see Section 1: Concepts and definitions) and provide information on longer-term movements, including underlying changes in direction in the series. For information on trend-cycle data, see Trend-cycle estimates – Frequently asked questions.
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 419).
Real-time data tables
Real-time data tables 20-10-0019-01, 20-10-0020-01 and 20-10-0005-01 will be updated soon.
Next release
Wholesale trade data for November 2023 will be released on January 15, 2024.
Products
The product "Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey: Interactive Tool" (71-607-X) is available online. This product is based on the data published in the tables of the Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey: 20-10-0074-01, 20-10-0076-01 and 20-10-0003-01.
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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