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Wholesale Inventories up 1.5% in November
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that November 2009 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 $337.4 billion, up 3.3 percent (+/-0.7%) from the revised October level and were up 0.6 percent (+/-1.6%) from the November 2008 level. The October preliminary estimate was revised upward $0.5 billion or 0.1 percent. November sales of durable goods were up 1.9 percent (+/-0.9%) from last month, but were down 4.2 percent (+/-3.0%) from a year ago. Compared to last month, sales of electrical and electronic goods were up 5.9 percent and sales of lumber and other construction materials were up 1.9 percent. Sales of nondurable goods were up 4.4 percent (+/-1.1%) from last month and were up 4.7 percent (+/-1.4%) from last year. Sales of farm product raw materials were up 29.6 percent and sales of petroleum and petroleum products were up 7.5 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 $386.3 billion at the end of November, up 1.5 percent (+/-0.4%) from the revised October level, but were down 11.0 percent (+/-1.1%) from a year ago. The November preliminary estimate was revised upward $1.0 billion or 0.3 percent. End-of-month inventories of durable goods were down 0.3 percent (+/-0.4%) from last month and were down 16.1 percent (+/-1.1%) from last November. Inventories of machinery, equipment, and supplies were down 1.4 percent from last month, while inventories of computer and computer peripheral equipment and software were up 2.2 percent. End-of-month inventories of nondurable goods increased 4.2 percent (+/-0.9%) from October, but were down 2.2 percent (+/-1.2%) compared to last November. Inventories of farm product raw materials were up 29.8 percent from last month and inventories of petroleum and petroleum products were up 7.0 percent.
The November inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.14. The November 2008 ratio was 1.29.
Posted: January 8, 2010 Friday 10:00 AM