File: Wholesale trade sales and inventories. (Photo: Bureau of Labor Statistics/ BLS)
The U.S. Census Bureau said business inventories rose 0.2% in July as gains for merchant wholesalers and manufacturers offset a decline for retailers. The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for July, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was an estimated $1,358.8 billion, up 0.2% (±0.1%) from June 2017 and was 4.9% (±0.4%) from July 2016.
Manufacturers’ and trade inventories, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at $1,873.9 billion for the end of the month, up 0.2% (±0.1%) from June 2017 and 3.0% (±0.3%) from July 2016. The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of July was 1.38, down from 1.40 for the July 2016 ratio.
Merchant wholesalers saw a 0.6% build and manufacturers saw a 0.2%, offsetting a 0.1% decline for retailers.
