Wholesale Trade: Inventories Rose Faster than Sales in November

The monthly wholesale trade report found inventories rising faster than sales, up a modest 0.3% juxtaposed to a decline of 0.6%.

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 $505.3 billion in November 2018.

That decline (±0.4%) is still 4.0% (±3.5%) higher than the November 2017 level. The September 2018 to October 2018 percent change was revised from the preliminary estimate of down 0.2% (±0.5%)* to down 0.6% (±0.5%).

Meanwhile, total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, came in at $654.0 billion at the end of November, up 0.3% (±0.2%) from the revised October level.

Total inventories were up 6.5% (±4.4%) from the revised November 2017 level.

The November inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.29. The November 2017 ratio was 1.26.