-- Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) rose 2.0% to $86.8 billion in February, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday.
StatsCan said sales increased in five of the seven subsectors, representing 85.4% of total wholesale sales. It added the largest increases came from the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector (+6.1% to $14.4 billion) and the food, beverage and tobacco subsector (+2.9% to $16.5 billion).
Wholesale sales were 1.2% higher in February compared with the same month one year earlier.
In volume terms, wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) rose 1.1% in February.
Among other headlines, Ontario and Quebec led provincial wholesale sales gains, while there was a decline in wholesale inventories.