Research >> Economics
Wholesale Inventories up 0.4% in April
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that April 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 $351.1 billion, up 0.7 percent (+/-0.9%) from the revised March level and were up 16.3 percent (+/-1.6%) from the April 2009 level. The March preliminary estimate was revised upward $0.7 billion or 0.2 percent. April sales of durable goods were up 2.0 percent (+/-0.9%) from last month and were up 17.7 percent (+/-2.3%) from a year ago. Sales of lumber and other construction materials were up 9.1 percent from last month and sales of electrical and electronic goods were up 3.5 percent. Sales of nondurable goods were down 0.4 percent (+/-1.1%) from last month, but were up 15.1 percent (+/-1.9%) from last year. Sales of petroleum and petroleum products were down 3.5 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 $397.8 billion at the end of April, up 0.4 percent (+/-0.4%) from the revised March level, but were down 3.2 percent (+/-1.1%) from a year ago. The March preliminary estimate was revised upward $1.3 billion or 0.3 percent. End-of-month inventories of durable goods were up 0.3 percent (+/-0.5%) from last month, but were down 6.7 percent (+/-1.2%) from last April. Inventories of computer and computer peripheral equipment and software were up 3.8 percent from last month, while inventories of hardware, and plumbing and heating equipment and supplies were down 0.7 percent. End-of-month inventories of nondurable goods were up 0.7 percent (+/-0.7%) from March and were up 2.4 percent (+/-1.8%) compared to last April. Inventories of petroleum and petroleum products were up 6.9 percent from last month and inventories of paper and paper products were up 2.2 percent.
The April inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.13. The April 2009 ratio was 1.36.
Posted: June 9, 2010 Wednesday 10:00 AM