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Wholesale Inventories up 0.8% in April
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that April 2011 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 $393.5 billion, up 0.3 percent (+/-0.5%)* from the revised March level and were up 14.4 percent (+/-1.4%) from the April 2010 level. The March preliminary estimate was revised upward $0.4 billion or 0.1 percent. April sales of durable goods were down 0.6 percent (+/-0.5%) from last month, but were up 10.7 percent (+/-1.4%) from a year ago. Sales of lumber and other construction materials were down 5.0 percent from last month and sales of metals and minerals, except petroleum, were down 3.6 percent. Sales of nondurable goods were up 0.9 percent (+/-0.9%)* from last month and were up 17.5 percent (+/-1.9%) from last year. Sales of petroleum and petroleum products were up 2.3 percent from last month.
Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $447.2 billion at the end of April, up 0.8 percent (+/-0.4%) from the revised March level and were up 13.8 percent (+/-1.2%) from a year ago. The March preliminary estimate was revised upward $0.7 billion or 0.2 percent. End-of-month inventories of durable goods were up 0.8 percent (+/-0.4%) from last month and were up 9.4 percent (+/-1.4%) from last April. Inventories of metals and minerals, except petroleum, were up 4.0 percent from last month and inventories of electrical and electronic goods were up 2.2 percent. End-of-month inventories of nondurable goods were up 0.8 percent (+/-0.5%) from March and were up 20.3 percent (+/-2.1%) compared to last April. Inventories of petroleum and petroleum products were up 3.7 percent from last month and inventories of chemicals and allied products were up 2.0 percent.
The April inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.14. The April 2010 ratio was 1.14.
Posted: June 9, 2011 Thursday 10:00 AM