• Prior month -2.8% revised to -2.1%
• Wholesale sales (excluding certain products) rose by 0.2% versus +1.4% expected.
• Total wholesale trade came in at $81.3 billion in July.
• The growth was driven by the motor vehicle and building material subsectors, despite declines in most other subsectors.
• Yearly, the wholesale sales (with exclusions) increased by 1.1%.
• Petroleum products and oilseed and grain data are present in tables but excluded from monthly analysis until historical data is available.
• The British Columbia port strike affected supply chains mainly on Canada’s west coast but had a minor effect on the wholesale sector in July.
• Nationally, the port strike affected less than 5% of wholesale businesses.
• Constant dollar sales (with exclusions) also saw a 0.2% rise in July.

Inventories:

• Wholesale inventories (excluding certain products) increased by 0.4% to $128.4 billion in July.
• Four out of seven subsectors reported inventory growth in July.
• The machinery, equipment and supplies subsector led with a rise of 1.5% to $37.8 billion.
• The motor vehicle subsector followed with an increase of 1.6% to $16.2 billion.
• The inventory-to-sales ratio dropped from 1.59 in June to 1.58 in July, indicating the time needed to deplete inventories at current sales rates.

Subsector details:

• Motor vehicle and parts subsector sales increased by 3.9% to $14.1 billion in July.

  • This is the third monthly rise since 2023 began.
  • Two out of three industry groups reported growth, with the motor vehicle industry group’s sales (+4.2% to $11.4 billion) being the primary driver.
  • Exports in this subsector also grew by 2.1% in July.

• Building material and supplies subsector saw a growth of 2.7% to $12.0 billion in July.

  • This is the first increase for this subsector since March 2023.
  • Two out of three industry groups reported growth, with the lumber and other building supplies group (+4.6% to $5.9 billion) having the most impact.
  • Factors like Pacific Northwest wildfires and the British Columbia port workers’ strike led to higher lumber prices and increased sales.

• The machinery, equipment, and supplies subsector declined by 2.2% to $17.4 billion.

  • Most industry groups in this subsector reported a decrease in sales.
  • The largest declines were in the farm, lawn, and garden machinery group (-13.2% to $2.2 billion) and the computer and communications equipment group (-4.7% to $4.9 billion).