Variant of NAICS 1997 - Labour Force Survey (LFS) Industries

7 - Services-Producing Sector

8 - Trade

41 - Wholesale Trade

This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in wholesaling merchandise and providing related logistics, marketing and support services. The wholesaling process is generally an intermediate step in the distribution of merchandise; many wholesalers are therefore organized to sell merchandise in large quantities to retailers, and business and institutional clients. However, some wholesalers, in particular those that supply non-consumer capital goods, sell merchandise in single units to final users.

This sector recognizes two main types of wholesalers, that is, wholesale merchants and wholesale agents and brokers.

Wholesale Merchants

Wholesale merchants buy and sell merchandise on their own account, that is, they take title to the goods they sell. They generally operate from warehouse or office locations and they may ship from their own inventory or arrange for the shipment of goods directly from the supplier to the client. In addition to the sale of goods, they may provide, or arrange for the provision of, logistics, marketing and support services, such as packaging and labelling, inventory management, shipping, handling of warranty claims, in-store or co-op promotions, and product training. Dealers of machinery and equipment, such as dealers of farm machinery and heavy-duty trucks, also fall within this category.

Wholesale merchants are known by a variety of trade designations depending on their relationship with suppliers or customers, or the distribution method they employ. Examples include wholesale merchants, wholesale distributors, drop shippers, rack-jobbers, import-export merchants, buying groups, dealer-owned cooperatives and banner wholesalers.

The first eight subsectors of wholesale trade comprise wholesale merchants. The grouping of these establishments into industry groups and industries is based on the merchandise line or lines supplied by the wholesaler.

Wholesale Agents and Brokers

Wholesale agents and brokers buy and sell merchandise owned by others on a fee or commission basis. They do not take title to the goods they buy or sell, and they generally operate at or from an office location.

Wholesale agents and brokers are known by a variety of trade designations including import-export agents, wholesale commission agents, wholesale brokers, and manufacturer's representatives and agents.

417 - Machinery, Equipment and Supplies Wholesaler-Distributors

This subsector comprises establishments primarily engaged in wholesaling farm, lawn and garden machinery and equipment; construction, forestry, mining and industrial machinery, equipment and supplies; computers and communication equipment and supplies; and other machinery, equipment and supplies.

4172 - Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Industrial Machinery, Equipment and Supplies Wholesaler-Distributors

This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in wholesaling construction, forestry, mining and industrial machinery, equipment and supplies.

41723 - Industrial Machinery, Equipment and Supplies Wholesaler-Distributors

This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in wholesaling new and used industrial machinery.

• Exclusion(s):

  Establishments primarily engaged in:

  • wholesaling electric generators and transmission equipment (See 41611 Electrical Wiring and Construction Supplies Wholesaler-Distributors)
  • repairing industrial machinery, equipment and supplies (See 81131 Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment (except Automotive and Electronic) Repair and Maintenance)

417230 - Industrial Machinery, Equipment and Supplies Wholesaler-Distributors

This Canadian industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in wholesaling new and used industrial machinery.

• Example Activities:

  • Abrasives, wholesale
  • Bakery machinery, equipment and supplies, wholesale
  • Batteries, storage, industrial, wholesale
  • Bearings, wholesale
  • Belting, hose and packing, industrial, wholesale
  • Boilers, power (industrial), wholesale
  • Bort, wholesale
  • Bottles, glass or plastic, wholesale
  • Cans for fruits and vegetables, wholesale
  • Cement making machinery, wholesale
  • Chemical industries machinery, equipment and supplies, wholesale
  • Citrus processing machinery, wholesale
  • Compressors and vacuum pumps, wholesale
  • Controlling instruments and accessories, wholesale
  • Conveyor systems, wholesale
  • Cranes, industrial, wholesale
  • Crowns and closures, metal, wholesale
  • Crushing machinery and equipment, industrial, wholesale
  • Derricks, wholesale
  • Diamonds, industrial, natural and crude, wholesale
  • Drums, new and reconditioned, wholesale
  • Elevating machinery and equipment (except farm), wholesale
  • Elevators, wholesale
  • Fans, industrial, wholesale
  • Food product manufacturing machinery, wholesale
  • Foundry machinery and equipment, wholesale
  • Gaskets, wholesale
  • Heat exchange equipment, industrial, wholesale
  • Hoisting machinery and equipment, wholesale (except construction and forestry)
  • Hose, belting and packing, industrial, wholesale
  • Indicating instruments and accessories, wholesale
  • Industrial equipment, wholesale
  • Industrial furnaces, kilns and ovens, wholesale
  • Industrial machinery, equipment and supplies, wholesale
  • Industrial sewing thread, wholesale
  • Ink, printer's, wholesale
  • Jigs, wholesale
  • Lapidary equipment, wholesale
  • Lift trucks, wholesale
  • Machine tools and accessories, wholesale
  • Machinery and equipment, industrial (except farm and electrical), wholesale
  • Manufacturing industry machinery and equipment, wholesale
  • Materials handling equipment, wholesale
  • Mechanical and power transmission equipment, wholesale
  • Metalworking machinery, wholesale
  • Milk products manufacturing machinery and equipment, wholesale
  • Packing machinery and equipment, wholesale
  • Paint spray equipment, industrial, wholesale
  • Paper manufacturing machinery, wholesale
  • Pistons and valves, industrial, wholesale
  • Plastic and rubber industries machinery, equipment and supplies, wholesale
  • Power house equipment (except electrical), wholesale
  • Power plant machinery, wholesale
  • Power transmission equipment, mechanical, wholesale
  • Precision tools, machinists', wholesale
  • Printing and lithographing industries machinery, wholesale
  • Printing trades machinery and equipment, wholesale
  • Pulp and paper industry machinery, wholesale
  • Pulverizing machinery and equipment, industrial, wholesale
  • Pumps and pumping equipment, wholesale
  • Recapping machinery, for tires, wholesale
  • Rubber and plastic industries machinery, equipment and supplies, wholesale
  • Sawmill and woodworking machinery, equipment and supplies, wholesale
  • Screening machinery and equipment, industrial, wholesale
  • Seals, gaskets and packing, wholesale
  • Sewing machines, industrial, wholesale
  • Smelting machinery and equipment, wholesale
  • Stackers, industrial, wholesale
  • Textile machinery and equipment, wholesale
  • Threading tools, wholesale
  • Tools, machinists' precision, wholesale
  • Tractors, industrial, wholesale
  • Trailers, industrial, wholesale
  • Transportation equipment industries, machinery, equipment and supplies, wholesale
  • Vacuum pumps and compressors, wholesale
  • Valves and fittings (except plumbers'), wholesale
  • Warehouse trucks and supplies, wholesale
  • Welding electrodes and wire, wholesale
  • Welding machinery and equipment, wholesale
  • Woodworking and sawmill, machinery, equipment and supplies, wholesale