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April 14, 2025WHOLESALE TRADE, FEBRUARY 2025 The wholesale trade data reported below now excludes petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons as well as oilseed and grain.
Monthly (seasonally adjusted, February 2025 vs January 2025)
Nova Scotia wholesale trade declined 1.8% to $1.23 billion. National wholesale trade increased 0.3% to $85.65 billion. Four provinces reported gains in January, led by Prince Edward Island. Six provinces reported lower monthly wholesale trade, with the fastest decline in British Columbia.
Year-over-year (seasonally adjusted, February 2025 vs February 2024)
Nova Scotia wholesale trade grew 1.2% in February when compared with the same month last year. Canada's wholesale trade grew 3.3%, year-over-year. Eight provinces reported higher year-over-year wholesale trade with Prince Edward Island reporting the fastest growth. New Brunswick and Manitoba reported year-over-year declines in wholesale trade.
Year-to-date (January-February 2025 vs January-February 2024)
Nova Scotia wholesale trade increased 3.5% in the first two months of 2024 compared to the same period of 2023. Canada's wholesale trade increased 3.1%. Eight provinces reported year-to-date increases in wholesale trade, with Prince Edward Island reporting the fastest gain. New Brunswick reported the fastest decline.
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, motor vehicles and parts, and machinery and equipment. The strongest growth in the first two months of 2025 was among motor vehicle and parts wholesale trade followed by building material. Food and beverage wholesale trade declined, 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 1.53 in February 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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