Canada Wholesale Sales Rise 0.3% in July

By Robb M. Stewart

OTTAWA--Canadian wholesale trade was buoyed in July by a rise in sales of metal products.

Wholesale sales rose 0.3% from the month before to a seasonally adjusted 93.09 billion Canadian dollars, the equivalent of US$66.96 billion, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. That was stronger than the data agency's advance estimate of sales retreating 0.6% for the month, and builds on the 2.8% rise a month earlier.

Compared with a year earlier, sales climbed 7.9%. And in volume terms, sales were down 0.6% during July but up 1.8% compared with a year prior.

The result contrasts with a pullback in manufacturing shipments in July and drop in monthly sales volumes, which points to headwinds for the economy to kick off the third quarter.

Sales were up in three of the seven wholesale industries tracked by Statistics Canada, which representeed half of all sector trade during the month. The biggest increase was in building materials and supplies, driven by sales by metal service centers on the back of higher steel products prices.

Sales by food, drink and tobacco wholesalers also were up for the month, led by increased food industry volumes.

Weakness in mineral, ore and precious metal sales moderated the advance for the sector, due in part to lower sales volumes of precious metals.

The value of inventories held by wholesalers in Canada was essentially unchanged for the month at C$140.65 billion, though stocks were up 5.5% on a year earlier.

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

Manufacturing trade weakened in July, with sales falling 0.4% from a month earlier following five straight months of rising activity. In volume terms, factory sales were down a sharper 1.4% for the months though up 0.4% year-over-year.

Statistics Canada previously estimated gross domestic product was essentially unchanged in July, following three consecutive months of growth for the economy. In annualized terms, the economy expanded 3.3% in the second quarter, the strongest growth in three years.

Including sales by petroleum, oilseed and grain merchants, wholesale trade for July was up 0.4% at C$137.3 billion, and 13.8% higher than in the same month last year. Inventories on the same basis were 0.6% higher than in June at C$154.96 billion.

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

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September 15, 2026 09:01 ET (13:01 GMT)