Seasonally adjusted wholesale trade slipped in the final three months of last year, for the second consecutive quarter.
Statistics New Zealand says the fall was 2.3% on top of a 1% fall in the September quarter.
The agency says part of the fall was due to a reclassification of some food wholesaling to manufacturing.
Largest contributors were falls in metals and minerals which were down by $197 million. Electrical equipment fell by $121 million.