Strong 2021 Revenues For Building Materials Sector

Canadian wholesalers had operating revenue of $1.3 trillion in 2021, an increase of 20 per cent over operating revenue of $1.1 trillion in 2020, says Statistics Canada. This increase was primarily due to the petroleum and petroleum products (+42.8 per cent) and the building material and supplies (+30.7 per cent) subsectors, which experienced substantial increases. The seven remaining subsectors also saw revenues increase in 2021. Total operating expenses, which include labour remuneration, were up 10.9 per cent to $149.9 billion. Overall, the operating profits of wholesalers as a percentage of total operating revenue increased from 5.1 per cent in 2020 to 5.2 per cent in 2021. With the second largest increase in revenue, the building material and supplies subsector revenue was $140 billion in 2021. All three industries that comprise this subsector showed increases. The lumber, millwork, hardware, and other building supplies industry merchant wholesales showed the largest gain in dollar terms, increasing $18.8 billion from $56.5 billion in 2020 to $75.3 billion in 2021. In terms of percentage growth, the metal service centres industry increased 49.4 per cent to reach $25.9 billion in 2021. All three were influenced by an increase in lumber, construction material, and metals prices.