Research >> Economics
Wholesale Inventories up 1.5% in September
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that September 2010 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $353.9 billion, up 0.4 percent (+/-1.1%)* from the revised August level and were up 11.9 percent (+/-1.6%) from the September 2009 level. The August preliminary estimate was virtually unchanged from last month. September sales of durable goods were up 0.2 percent (+/-0.7%)* from last month and were up 13.3 percent (+/-1.9%) from a year ago. Sales of metals and minerals, except petroleum, were up 2.7 percent from last month, while sales of hardware, plumbing and heating equipment and supplies were down 2.1 percent. Sales of nondurable goods were up 0.6 percent (+/-1.6%)* from last month and were up 10.6 percent (+/-1.8%) from last year. Sales of farm product raw materials were up 5.9 percent from last month and sales of paper and paper products were up 1.5 percent.
Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $417.0 billion at the end of September, up 1.5 percent (+/-0.4%) from the revised August level and were up 7.9 percent (+/-1.4%) from a year ago. The August preliminary estimate was revised upward $1.3 billion or 0.3 percent. End-of-month inventories of durable goods were up 0.7 percent (+/-0.4%) from last month and were up 4.0 percent (+/-1.2%) from last September. Inventories of hardware, plumbing and heating equipment and supplies were up 1.2 percent from last month and inventories of motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies were up 0.9 percent. End-of-month inventories of nondurable goods were up 2.8 percent (+/-0.9%) from August and were up 14.0 percent (+/-2.6%) compared to last September. Inventories of farm product raw materials were up 14.8 percent from last month and inventories of apparel, piece goods, and notions were up 4.0 percent.
The September inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.18. The September 2009 ratio was 1.22.
Posted: November 9, 2010 Tuesday 10:00 AM