Wholesale sales popped 9% from a year ago with all sectors up, says StatCan

In June, Canadian wholesalers experienced a notable increase in sales, with overall wholesale sales rising by nine percent from the previous year, according to Statistics Canada. This growth was seen across all seven subsectors, with comparable wholesale sales topping $92.5 billion, marking the fourth consecutive month of increases.

Volume-wise, sales grew by 1.9 percent from May. The machinery, equipment, and supplies sector led the surge, with sales jumping by 4.8 percent month-over-month to $20.1 billion, marking the first increase after two months of decline. This boost was primarily driven by farm, lawn, and garden machinery and equipment sales, which surged by 25.9 percent.

Agricultural supplies and recyclable materials also saw significant gains, with increases of 8.3 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively. These were the top performers within the miscellaneous subsector, which expanded by 4.7 percent in June, reaching $12.5 billion in sales. The food, beverage, and tobacco subsector recorded a 2.8 percent rise, reaching $16.4 billion, largely due to increased food sales, which grew by 3.1 percent.

Statistics Canada attributes this food sales increase to higher volumes rather than just higher product values. This report comes following the FIFA World Cup, which ended in July, leading to a surge in demand for tourism and entertainment, including in bars and restaurants nationwide. The June data represents the final month of the second quarter, showing a 4.2 percent increase in wholesale sales compared to the first quarter, totaling $272.8 billion in value (excluding petroleum and related products).

By volume, the second quarter saw a 2.8 percent increase in sales compared to the previous quarter, with overall second quarter wholesale sales value up 7.9 percent from a year earlier.