(Ottawa) Wholesale trade sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseeds and grains, increased 2.4% to 83.3 billion in April, Statistics Canada said Friday .
The overall increase came as sales increased in five of seven subsectors compared to the previous month.
The motor vehicles and parts and accessories subsector increased 10.2% to 14.6 billion in April, its highest level since November 2023. The largest increase in this segment was seen in the motor vehicle group, with a jump of 12.4% and sales of 11.8 billion.
In terms of volumes, wholesale trade sales increased 2.0% in April.
Statistics Canada began including oilseeds and grains and the petroleum and petroleum products subsector in wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the statistics from monthly analysis until sufficient historical data is available.
In Ontario, sales rose 2.1% to $43.0 billion in April, after declining for three consecutive months. The main driver was a notable 11.7% increase in the motor vehicles, parts and accessories subsector.
In Quebec, the figures remained virtually unchanged from month to month, at 14.8 billion. Increases were observed in particular in motor vehicles and parts and accessories and in the agricultural products segment.
The increase was 4.7% in New Brunswick, to 847 million, 2.8% in Nova Scotia, to 1.2 billion, and 9.6% in Prince Edward Island. , at 123 million.