Research >> Economics
Wholesale Inventories up 0.8% in March
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that March 2010 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 $348.0 billion, up 2.4 percent (+/-0.5%) from the revised February level and were up 15.8 percent (+/-1.2%) from the March 2009 level. The February preliminary estimate was revised upward $1.1 billion or 0.3 percent. March sales of durable goods were up 2.0 percent (+/-0.9%) from last month and were up 13.7 percent (+/-1.8%) from a year ago. Sales of lumber and other construction materials were up 16.3 percent from last month and sales of metals and minerals, except petroleum, were up 6.0 percent. Sales of nondurable goods were up 2.8 percent (+/-0.9%) from last month and were up 17.6 percent (+/-1.6%) from last year. Sales of petroleum and petroleum products were up 6.6 percent from last month and sales of beer, wine, and distilled alcoholic beverages 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 $394.8 billion at the end of March, up 0.4 percent (+/-0.5%) from the revised February level, but were down 5.3 percent (+/-1.1%) from a year ago. The February preliminary estimate was revised downward $0.3 billion or 0.1 percent. End-of-month inventories of durable goods were up 0.8 percent (+/-0.4%) from last month, but were down 9.2 percent (+/-1.2%) from last March. Inventories of metals and minerals, except petroleum were up 3.6 percent from last month and inventories of computer and computer peripheral equipment and software were up 2.6 percent. End-of-month inventories of nondurable goods were down 0.2 percent (+/-0.7%) from February, but were up 1.0 percent (+/-1.6%) compared to last March. Inventories of farm product raw materials were down 5.1 percent from last month, while inventories of petroleum and petroleum products were up 1.7 percent.
The March inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.13. The March 2009 ratio was 1.39.
Posted: May 11, 2010 Tuesday 10:00 AM