Canada Wholesale Sales Estimated to Have Risen 0.5% in September

Robb M. Stewart

OTTAWA--Canadian wholesale trade picked up last month, with an advance estimate pointing to a recovery in sales.

Statistics Canada's early tally of wholesale receipts points to a 0.5% increase in September sales from the month before.

The advance was driven by increased trade in machinery, equipment and supplies, and in motor vehicles and parts, the data agency said Monday.

The rise in sales marks a rebound after sales fell 1.6% between July and August, and dropped 1.8% in volume terms, led by a drop vehicle and parts activity.

Statistics Canada last week estimated manufacturing sales edged up 0.1% in September following a 1.5% rise the month before. Early receipts also point to a 0.7% rise in retail trade last month, following a 1.2% rise in August following the first decline of the year in July.

The agency is set to release gross domestic product numbers for August Friday, alongside an early look at September activity. It previously estimated the economy in August expanded 0.2% from the month before, which would represent a fourth month of growth in the last five after essentially no change in July.

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

The early look at wholesale sales was based on a weighted response rate to the data agency's survey of about 62%. Statistics Canada is scheduled to release official wholesale trade data Nov. 13.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 26, 2026 08:52 ET (12:52 GMT)