Research >> Economics
Wholesale Inventories up 0.3% in March
|
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that March 2012 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 $411.1 billion, up 0.5 percent (+/-0.7)* from the revised February level and were up 6.5 percent (+/-1.2%) from the March 2011 level. The February preliminary estimate was revised downward $0.4 billion or 0.1 percent. March sales of durable goods were down 0.6 percent (+/-1.1%)* from last month, but were up 7.8 percent (+/-1.2%) from a year ago. Sales of nondurable goods were up 1.5 percent (+/-0.7%) from February and were up 5.5 percent (+/-1.4%) from last March. Sales of farm product raw materials were up 4.3 percent from last month and sales of petroleum and petroleum products were up 2.7 percent.
Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $480.4 billion at the end of March, up 0.3 percent (+/-0.4%)* from the revised February level and were up 8.4 percent (+/-1.2%) from the March 2011 level. The February preliminary estimate was virtually unchanged. March inventories of durable goods were up 1.0 percent (+/-0.4%) from last month and were up 10.8 percent (+/-1.6%) from a year ago. Inventories of lumber and other construction materials were up 2.1 percent from last month and inventories of machinery, equipment, and supplies were up 1.6 percent. Inventories of nondurable goods were down 0.6 percent (+/-0.5%) from February, but were up 5.1 percent (+/-1.4%) from last March. Inventories of petroleum and petroleum products were down 5.9 percent from last month and inventories of paper and paper products were down 2.0 percent.
The March inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.17. The March 2011 ratio was 1.15.
Posted: May 9, 2012 Wednesday 10:00 AM