Research >> Economics
Wholesale Inventories down 0.1% in January
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that January 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 $433.7 billion, down 3.1 percent (+/-0.5%) from the revised December level and were down 1.0 percent (+/-0.9%) from the January 2014 level. The December preliminary estimate was revised downward $2.4 billion or 0.5 percent. December sales of durable goods were down 1.4 percent (+/-0.9%) from last month, but were up 5.8 percent (+/-1.2%) from a year ago. Sales of electrical and electronic goods were down 4.4 percent from last month and sales of metals and minerals, except petroleum were down 4.1 percent. Sales of nondurable goods were down 4.6 percent (+/-0.9%) from December and were down 6.7 percent (+/-1.2%) from last January. Sales of petroleum and petroleum products were down 13.5 percent from last month and sales of drugs and druggists' sundries were down 3.6 percent.
Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $548.7 billion at the end of January, up 0.3 percent (+/-0.4%)* from the revised December level and were up 6.2 percent (+/-0.7%) from the January 2014 level. The December preliminary estimate was revised downward $0.7 billion or 0.1 percent. January inventories of durable goods were up 0.6 percent (+/-0.4%) from last month and were up 7.7 percent (+/-1.1%) from a year ago. Inventories of electrical and electronic goods were up 2.4 percent from last month and inventories of motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies were up 1.6 percent. Inventories of nondurable goods were down 0.1 percent (+/-0.4%)* from December, but were up 3.7 percent (+/-1.1%) from last January. Inventories of farm product raw materials were down 4.6 percent from last month, while inventories of paper and paper products were up 3.0 percent.
The January inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.27. The January 2014 ratio was 1.18.
Posted: March 10, 2015 Tuesday 10:00 AM