Wholesale sales rise 0.1% to $84.2 billion in May

Statistics Canada says wholesale sales — excluding petroleum, petroleum products and other hydrocarbons, as well as oilseed and grain — edged up 0.1% to $84.2 billion in May.

The agency says the increase came as the personal and household goods subsector rose 3.5% to boost sales.

The motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector gained 2.2%.

Those gains were partially offset by a 3.3% drop in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector, as sales of farm, lawn and garden machinery and equipment fell 17.1%, and the construction, forestry, mining and industrial machinery, equipment and supplies group lost 3.9%.

In volume terms, wholesale sales — excluding petroleum, petroleum products and other hydrocarbons, as well as oilseed and grain — rose 0.2% in May.

Statistics Canada has started including oilseed and grain, along with the petroleum and petroleum products subsector, as part of wholesale trade, but is excluding the data from its monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.

The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press is a national news agency headquartered in Toronto and founded in 1917.