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Wholesale Inventories up 1.9% in October
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that October 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 $362.1 billion, up 2.2 percent (+/-0.7%) from the revised September level and were up 13.4 percent (+/-1.1%) from the October 2009 level. The September preliminary estimate was revised upward $0.3 billion or 0.1 percent. October sales of durable goods were up 0.5 percent (+/-1.1%) from last month and were up 12.9 percent (+/-0.9%) from a year ago. Sales of lumber and other construction materials were up 2.7 percent from last month. Sales of nondurable goods were up 3.7 percent (+/-1.1%) from last month and were up 13.8 percent (+/-1.6%) from last year. Sales of farm product raw materials were up 25.9 percent from last month and sales of petroleum and petroleum products were up 6.4 percent.
Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $427.1 billion at the end of October, up 1.9 percent (+/-0.5%) from the revised September level and were up 9.9 percent (+/-1.6%) from a year ago. The September preliminary estimate was revised upward $2.3 billion or 0.6 percent. End-of-month inventories of durable goods were up 0.9 percent (+/-0.4%) from last month and were up 5.0 percent (+/-1.4%) from last October. Inventories of metals and minerals, except petroleum were up 2.2 percent from last month and inventories of computer and computer peripheral equipment and software were up 1.9 percent. End-of-month inventories of nondurable goods were up 3.2 percent (+/-1.2%) from September and were up 17.4 percent (+/-3.2%) compared to last October. Inventories of farm product raw materials were up 20.5 percent from last month and inventories of petroleum and petroleum products were up 3.5 percent.
The October inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.18. The October 2009 ratio was 1.22.
Posted: December 9, 2010 Thursday 10:00 AM