Research >> Economics
Wholesale Inventories up 0.3% in December
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that December 2013 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 $442.4 billion, up 0.5 percent (+/-0.7%)* from the revised November level and were up 5.8 percent (+/-1.1%) from the December 2012 level. The November preliminary estimate was revised upward $0.3 billion or 0.1 percent. December sales of durable goods were up 0.3 percent (+/-1.2%)* from last month and were up 5.6 percent (+/-1.6%) from a year ago. Sales of lumber and other construction materials were up 2.3 percent from last month. Sales of nondurable goods were up 0.6 percent (+/-0.5%) from November and were up 6.0 percent (+/-1.9%) from last December. Sales of drugs and druggists' sundries were up 3.4 percent from last month and sales of paper and paper products were up 2.8 percent.
Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $517.9 billion at the end of December, up 0.3 percent (+/-0.4%)* from the revised November level and were up 4.0 percent (+/-1.1%) from the December 2012 level. The November preliminary estimate was virtually unchanged. December inventories of durable goods were up 1.3 percent (+/-0.5%) from last month and were up 5.7 percent (+/-1.4%) from a year ago. Inventories of machinery, equipment, and supplies were up 2.2 percent from last month and inventories of professional and commercial equipment and supplies were up 1.9 percent. Inventories of nondurable goods were down 1.3 percent (+/-0.7%) from November, but were up 1.3 percent (+/-1.1%) from last December. Inventories of farm product raw materials were down 5.2 percent from last month and inventories of petroleum and petroleum products were down 5.1 percent.
The December inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.17. The December 2012 ratio was 1.19.
Posted: February 11, 2014 Tuesday 10:00 AM