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Wholesale Inventories up 1.4% in October
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that October 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 $435.3 billion, up 1.0 percent (+/-0.5%) from the revised September level and were up 6.4 percent (+/-3.2%) from the October 2012 level. The September preliminary estimate was revised upward $0.6 billion or 0.1 percent. October sales of durable goods were virtually unchanged (+/-1.1%) from last month, but were up 7.5 percent (+/-4.2%) from a year ago. Sales of machinery, equipment, and supplies were up 3.8 percent from last month, while sales of motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies were down 4.5 percent. Sales of nondurable goods were up 1.8% percent (+/-1.1%) from September and were up 5.5 percent (+/-4.6%) from last October. Sales of petroleum and petroleum products were up 3.6 percent from last month.
Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $514.1 billion at the end of October, up 1.4 percent (+/-0.4%) from the revised September level and were up 3.3 percent (+/-4.7%) from the October 2012 level. The September preliminary estimate was revised upward $0.7 billion or 0.1 percent. October inventories of durable goods were up 0.4 percent (+/-0.5%) from last month and were up 4.1 percent (+/-5.6%) from a year ago. Inventories of motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies were up 2.7 percent from last month, while inventories of computer and computer peripheral equipment and software were down 5.7 percent. Inventories of nondurable goods were up 3.0 percent (+/-0.7%) from September and were up 2.2 percent (+/-6.0%) from last October. Inventories of farm product raw materials were up 17.0 percent from last month and inventories of drugs and druggists' sundries were up 3.6 percent.
The October inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.18. The October 2012 ratio was 1.22.
Posted: December 10, 2013 Tuesday 10:00 AM