Research >> Economics
Wholesale Inventories down 0.1% in July
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that July 2015 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 $449.5 billion, down 0.3 percent (+/-0.5) from the revised June level and were down 4.2 percent (+/-1.4%) from the July 2014 level. The June preliminary estimate was revised upward $1.0 billion or 0.2 percent. July sales of durable goods were up 1.2 percent (+/-0.9%) from last month and were up 0.2 percent (+/-1.6%) from a year ago. Sales of machinery, equipment, and supplies were up 5.2 percent from last month and sales of computer and computer peripheral equipment and software were up 3.2 percent. Sales of nondurable goods were down 1.7 percent (+/-0.5%) from June and were down 8.0 percent (+/-1.9%) from last July. Sales of petroleum and petroleum products were down 8.2 percent from last month and sales of farm product raw materials were down 2.2 percent.
Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $584.3 billion at the end of July, down 0.1 percent (+/-0.4%) from the revised June level, but were up 4.9 percent (+/-1.4%) from the July 2014 level. The June preliminary estimate was revised downward $1.2 billion or 0.2 percent. July inventories of durable goods were up 0.1 percent (+/-0.4%) from last month and were up 5.0 percent (+/-1.8%) from a year ago. Inventories of motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies were up 1.0 percent from last month, while inventories of metals and minerals, except petroleum, were down 1.4 percent. Inventories of nondurable goods were down 0.5 percent (+/-0.7%) from June, but were up 4.8 percent (+/-1.8%) from last July. Inventories of petroleum and petroleum products were down 4.8 percent from last month and inventories of drugs and druggists' sundries were down 3.2 percent.
The July inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.30. The July 2014 ratio was 1.19.
Posted: September 10, 2015 Thursday 10:00 AM