Research >> Economics
Wholesale Inventories down 0.1% in September
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that September 2011 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 $403.1 billion, up 0.5 percent (+/-0.9) from the revised August level and were up 15.0 percent (+/-1.2%) from the September 2010 level. The August preliminary estimate was revised downward $0.1 billion. September sales of durable goods were down 0.4 percent (+/-1.1%) from last month, but were up 13.5 percent (+/-1.6%) from a year ago. Sales of nondurable goods were up 1.2 percent (+/-1.1%) from August and were up 16.3 percent (+/-1.8%) from last September. Sales of chemicals and allied products were up 7.8 percent from last month and sales of petroleum and petroleum products were up 3.9 percent.
Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $462.0 billion at the end of September, down 0.1 percent (+/-0.2%) from the revised August level, but were up 11.9 percent (+/-0.9%) from the September 2010 level. The August preliminary estimate was revised downward $1.6 billion or 0.3 percent. September inventories of durable goods were up 0.4 percent (+/-0.4%) from last month and were up 12.0 percent (+/-1.4%) from a year ago. Inventories of machinery, equipment, and supplies were up 2.7 percent from last month, while inventories of computer and computer peripheral equipment and software were down 2.5 percent. Inventories of nondurable goods were down 0.9 percent (+/-0.7%) from August, but were up 11.8 percent (+/-1.9%) from last September. Inventories of farm product raw materials were down 8.2 percent from last month and inventories of petroleum and petroleum products were down 4.0 percent.
The September inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.15. The September 2010 ratio was 1.18.
Posted: November 9, 2011 Wednesday 10:00 AM