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May 15, 2025WHOLESALE TRADE, MARCH 2025 The wholesale trade data reported below now excludes petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons as well as oilseed and grain.
Monthly (seasonally adjusted, March 2025 vs February 2025)
Nova Scotia wholesale trade grew 0.1% to $1.260 billion. National wholesale trade increased 0.2% to $86.49 billion. Six provinces reported gains in March, led by Saskatchewan. Four provinces reported lower monthly wholesale trade, with the fastest decline in New Brunswick.
Year-over-year (seasonally adjusted, March 2025 vs March 2024)
Nova Scotia wholesale trade grew 6.5% in March when compared with the same month last year. Canada's wholesale trade grew 5.7%, year-over-year. All provinces reported higher year-over-year wholesale trade, except New Brunswick, with Newfoundland and Labrador reporting the fastest growth.
Year-to-date (January-March 2025 vs January-March 2024)
Nova Scotia wholesale trade increased 5.5% in the first three months of 2025 compared to the same period of 2024. Canada's wholesale trade increased 4.3%. All provinces reported year-to-date increases in wholesale trade, except New Brunswick, with Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador reporting the fastest gains.
Food and beverage wholesale represents the largest share of Nova Scotia's wholesale trade (excluding petroleum products and oilseed and grains), followed by building materials, machinery and equipment, and motor vehicles and parts. The strongest growth in the first three months of 2025 was among motor vehicle and parts wholesale trade followed by machinery and equipment. Food and beverage wholesale trade reported the smallest gain year-to-date.
TRENDS
National wholesale trade (excluding petroleum products and oilseed and grains) was relatively stable from 2023 to mid-2024 and has been trending upward since the summer of 2024. Nova Scotia wholesale trade follows a similar upward trend as national wholesale trade, with more volatility from month to month. In 2024, Nova Scotia's wholesale trade became more stable following notable volatility in the years following the pandemic.
Wholesale inventories as a share of sales rose through 2022 and have remained stable since, with a value of 1.50 in March 2025.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 20-10-0074-01 Wholesale trade, sales (x 1,000); Table 20-10-0076-01 Wholesale trade, inventories (x 1,000)
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