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July 14, 2025WHOLESALE TRADE, MAY 2025 The wholesale trade data reported below now excludes petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons as well as oilseed and grain.
Monthly (seasonally adjusted, May 2025 vs April 2025)
Nova Scotia wholesale trade increased 0.6% to $1.255 billion. National wholesale trade edged up 0.1% to $84.2 billion, though seven provinces reported declines. Nova Scotia, Ontario and British Columbia reported the only gains while Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick reported the steepest declines.
Year-over-year (seasonally adjusted, May 2025 vs May 2024)
Nova Scotia wholesale trade grew 3.8% in May when compared with the same month last year. Canada's wholesale trade grew 1.8%, year-over-year. All provinces except Prince Edward Island reported year-over-year increases in wholesale trade. British Columbia reported the fastest year-over-year rise (followed by Nova Scotia).
Year-to-date (January-May 2025 vs January-May 2024)
Nova Scotia wholesale trade increased 4.7% in the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period of 2024. Canada's wholesale trade increased 2.8%. All provinces reported year-to-date increases in wholesale trade. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the fastest gain (Manitoba had the slowest).
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.
Wholesale trade in food and beverages was down year-to-date while the other reported categories had rising sales, led by motor vehicles/parts.
Trends
National wholesale trade (excluding petroleum products and oilseed and grains) was relatively stable from 2023 to mid-2024 and had been trending upward until a sharp decline in recent months. Nova Scotia wholesale trade follows a similar upward trend as national wholesale trade, with more volatility from month to month.
Wholesale inventories as a share of sales have risen in recent months, rising to a value of 1.55 in May 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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