Research >> Economics
Wholesale Inventories down 0.2% in January
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that January 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 $346.7 billion, up 1.3 percent (+/-0.9%) from the revised December level and were up 10.5 percent (+/-1.2%) from the January 2009 level. The December preliminary estimate was revised upward $1.3 billion or 0.4 percent. January sales of durable goods were up 0.3 percent (+/-1.2%) from last month and were up 9.5 percent (+/-2.3%) from a year ago. Compared to last month, sales of hardware, and plumbing and heating equipment and supplies were up 3.9 percent. Sales of nondurable goods were up 2.0 percent (+/-1.1%) from last month and were up 11.3 percent (+/-1.2%) from last year. Sales of farm product raw materials were up 5.0 percent and sales of grocery and related products were up 2.4 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 $382.2 billion at the end of January, down 0.2 percent (+/-0.4%) from the revised December level and were down 9.7 percent (+/-1.1%) from a year ago. The December preliminary estimate was revised downward $0.8 billion or 0.2 percent. End-of-month inventories of durable goods were down 0.5 percent (+/-0.4%) from last month and were down 15.4 percent (+/-1.1%) from last January. Inventories of machinery, equipment, and supplies were down 1.8 percent from last month. End-of-month inventories of nondurable goods increased 0.3 percent (+/-0.7%) from December and were up 0.1 percent (+/-1.6%) compared to last January. Inventories of petroleum and petroleum products were up 4.7 percent from last month, while inventories of farm product raw materials were down 4.5 percent.
The January inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.10. The January 2009 ratio was 1.35.
Posted: March 10, 2010 Wednesday 10:00 AM