Wholesale Trade, March 2026
May 20, 2026
Wholesale sales increase in March
Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) rose 1.9% to $89.0 billion in March. Sales increased in five of the seven subsectors, representing 79.6% of total wholesale sales. The largest increase came from the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector. Wholesale sales were 3.3% higher in March than in the same month one year earlier.
In volume terms, wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) increased 1.7% in March.
Chart 1
Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and oilseed and grain) increase in March
Machinery, equipment and supplies subsector leads the gains
Sales in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector rose 6.5% to $19.5 billion in March. The increase was driven by higher sales in the computer and communications equipment and supplies industry group (+17.9% to $5.9 billion). This was the largest increase for this industry group since January 2021, reflecting new product releases and deliveries to government clients.
The personal and household goods subsector also contributed to the increase in the wholesale trade sector in March, with its sales rising 0.8% to $13.3 billion. The majority of the gain came from the pharmaceuticals and pharmacy supplies industry (+1.0% to $7.8 billion), which posted its fifth consecutive monthly increase. The pharmaceuticals and pharmacy supplies industry makes up roughly 60% of the personal and household goods subsector.
The increase in wholesale sales in March was moderated by a decline in the farm product (excluding oilseed and grain) subsector, which fell 3.8% to $1.7 billion.
Ontario and Alberta lead wholesale sales growth
In March, six provinces recorded higher wholesale sales, led by Ontario and Alberta.
Ontario posted the largest increase in sales, up 3.5% to $46.4 billion in March, marking the fourth increase in six months. Higher sales were recorded in five of the seven subsectors. The machinery, equipment and supplies subsector (+8.2% to $9.8 billion) reached the highest level of sales on record.
Alberta posted the second-largest increase in provincial sales in March, rising 3.2% to $9.7 billion. Sales increased in five of the seven subsectors, with the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector (+10.7% to $3.0 billion) reporting the largest increase.
Partly offsetting the provincial gains, wholesale sales in Quebec declined 2.2% to $15.7 billion in March. Overall, four of the seven subsectors posted lower sales, led by the food, beverage and tobacco subsector (-5.5% to $3.6 billion).
Wholesale inventory increases
Wholesale inventories (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) increased by 0.3% to $137.2 billion in March.
Inventories rose in three of the seven subsectors in March, with the largest increases occurring in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector (+2.0% to $41.4 billion) and the food, beverage and tobacco subsector (+0.5% to $15.6 billion).
The inventory-to-sales ratio decreased from 1.57 in February to 1.54 in March. This ratio measures the number of months required to exhaust inventories if sales remain at their current levels.
Sales increase in the first quarter
Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) increased 1.9% to $261.6 billion in the first quarter of 2026.
Sales increased in five of the seven subsectors. The largest increases were in the machinery, equipment and supplies (+3.0% to $56.0 billion) and the personal and household goods (+3.8% to $39.4 billion) subsectors.
Wholesale sales were 1.8% higher in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the first quarter of 2025.
