Wholesale Inventories Rise Less than Expected

The Wholesale Inventory Survey measures monthly sales, end-of-month inventories, and inventories-to-sales ratios of businesses for wholesale firms located in the United States. Specifically, the survey covers wholesale merchants who sell goods on their own account and include such businesses as wholesale merchants, industrial distributors, exporters, and importers. Traders key in to this report to see the potential health of consumer spending. Generally, high Wholesale Inventories signal that goods are piling up, which potentially indicates that retailers are facing slowing consumer demand, as consumers are unwilling to purchase goods. Wholesale Inventories in March rose 0.3 percent, which was lower than the estimated rise of 0.6 percent. According to the US Census Bureau, 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 $411.1 billion, up 0.5 percent from the revised February level and were up 6.5 percent from the March 2011 level. Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers' sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $480.4 billion at the end of March, up 0.3 percent from the revised February level and were up 8.4 percent from the March 2011 level. The February preliminary estimate was virtually unchanged. March inventories of durable goods were up 1.0 percent from last month and were up 10.8 percent from a year ago. Inventories of lumber and other construction materials were up 2.1 percent from last month and inventories of machinery, equipment, and supplies were up 1.6 percent.