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Wholesale Inventories down 1.4% in December
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that December 2008 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 $336.1 billion, down 3.6 percent (+/-0.7%) from the revised November level and were down 10.7 percent (+/-1.1%) from the December 2007 level. The November preliminary estimate was revised downward $0.7 billion or 0.2 percent. December sales of durable goods were down 2.0 percent (+/-1.4%) from last month and were down 9.4 percent (+/-2.5%) from a year ago. Compared to last month, sales of lumber and other construction materials were down 8.6 percent and sales of motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies were down 8.1 percent. Sales of nondurable goods were down 4.9 percent (+/-0.7%) from last month and were down 11.8 percent (+/-1.9%) from last year. Sales of petroleum and petroleum products were down 16.4 percent from last month and sales of farm product raw materials were down 9.4 percent.
Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $427.5 billion at the end of December, down 1.4 percent (+/-0.4%) from the revised November level, but were up 3.4 percent (+/-1.2%) from a year ago. The November preliminary estimate was revised downward $1.3 billion or 0.3 percent. End-of-month inventories of durable goods were down 1.4 percent (+/-0.4%) from last month, but were up 6.8 percent (+/-1.9%) from last December. Inventories of computer and computer peripheral equipment and software were down 6.7 percent from last month and inventories of metals and minerals, except petroleum, were down 6.6 percent. End-of-month inventories of nondurable goods decreased 1.5 percent (+/-0.7%) from November and were down 2.0 percent (+/-3.3%)* compared to last December. Inventories of petroleum and petroleum products were down 8.8 percent from last month and inventories of chemicals and allied products were down 1.9 percent.
The December inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.27. The December 2007 ratio was 1.10.
Posted: February 10, 2009 Tuesday 10:00 AM