Research >> Economics
Wholesale Inventories up 0.6% in April
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that April 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 $415.0 billion, up 1.1 percent (+/-0.5) from the revised March level and were up 6.8 percent (+/-0.9%) from the April 2011 level. The March preliminary estimate was revised downward $0.5 billion or 0.1 percent. April sales of durable goods were up 0.1 percent (+/-0.9%)* from last month and were up 8.1 percent (+/-0.9%) from a year ago. Sales of motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies were up 3.8 percent from last month. Sales of nondurable goods were up 1.9 percent (+/-0.7%) from March and were up 5.9 percent (+/-1.2%) from last April. Sales of petroleum and petroleum products were up 4.8 percent from last month and sales of farm product raw materials were up 4.2 percent.
Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $483.5 billion at the end of April, up 0.6 percent (+/-0.4%) from the revised March level and were up 8.2 percent (+/-1.1%) from the April 2011 level. The March preliminary estimate was revised upward $0.1 billion. April inventories of durable goods were up 1.1 percent (+/-0.4%) from last month and were up 11.4 percent (+/-1.6%) from a year ago. Inventories of machinery, equipment, and supplies were up 2.4 percent from last month and inventories of lumber and other construction materials were up 1.9 percent. Inventories of nondurable goods were down 0.1 percent (+/-0.5%)* from March, but were up 4.0 percent (+/-1.8%) from last April. Inventories of drugs and druggists' sundries were down 2.4 percent from last month, while inventories of paper and paper products were up 3.9 percent.
The April inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.17. The April 2011 ratio was 1.15.
Posted: June 8, 2012 Friday 10:00 AM