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Wholesale Inventories up 0.3% in June
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that June 2016 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 $444.6 billion, up 1.9 percent (+/-0.5%) from the revised May level, but were down 0.4 percent (+/-1.1%) from the June 2015 level. The April 2016 to May 2016 percent change was revised from the preliminary estimate of up 0.5 percent (0.5%) to up 0.7 percent (0.5%). June sales of durable goods were up 1.2 percent (+/-0.9%) from last month and were up 1.8 percent (+/-1.8%) from a year ago. Sales of hardware, and plumbing and heating equipment and supplies were up 7.7 percent from last month and sales of electrical and electronic goods were up 2.5 percent. Sales of nondurable goods were up 2.5 percent (+/-0.7%) from May, but were down 2.5 percent (+/-1.6%) from last June. Sales of farm product raw materials were up 5.1 percent from last month and petroleum and petroleum products were up 5.1 percent.
Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $590.9 billion at the end of June, up 0.3 percent (+/-0.2%) from the revised May level. Total inventories are up 0.2 percent (+/-1.6%) from the revised June 2015 level. The May 2016 to June 2016 percent change was revised from the advance estimate of virtually unchanged (+/-0.4%) to up 0.3 percent (+/-0.2%). June inventories of durable goods were down 0.3 percent (+/-0.4%) from last month and were down 2.4 percent (+/-1.4%) from a year ago. Inventories of electrical and electronic goods were down 0.9 percent from last month, while inventories of lumber and other construction materials were up 1.8 percent. Inventories of nondurable goods were up 1.1 percent (+/-0.5%) from May and were up 4.5 percent (+/-2.5%) from last June. Inventories of drugs and druggists' sundries were up 4.9 percent from last month and inventories of farm product raw materials were up 4.0 percent.
The June inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.33. The June 2015 ratio was 1.32.
Posted: August 9, 2016 Tuesday 10:00 AM