Global| Sep 11 2013U.S. Wholesale Inventories Stabilize in July; Mixed by Industry
Summary
Inventories at the wholesale level recovered by 0.1% (+2.2% y/y) during July following a 0.2% fall (unrevised) drop in June and two prior declines. The upturn came in durable goods inventories, which rose 0.6% in July (+4.5% y/y) [...]
Inventories at the wholesale level recovered by 0.1% (+2.2% y/y) during July following a 0.2% fall (unrevised) drop in June and two prior declines. The upturn came in durable goods inventories, which rose 0.6% in July (+4.5% y/y) after a modest 0.1% increase in June. Most industry sectors participated in the advance, with machinery and equipment, miscellaneous durables and furniture all up at least 1.%. Declines did come in computers, -3.5%, and hardware and plumbing supplies, -0.2%. Nondurable goods inventories continued to fall, down 0.8% m/m and 1.3% y/y. This was again concentrated in farm products, which fell 10.1% in the month and were off 30.1% year-on-year. Drugs and druggist sundries, beer, wine and alcoholic beverages and miscellaneous nondurables also saw inventory reductions. By contrast, paper goods, apparel, chemicals and petroleum stocks all rose more than 1%.
Wholesale sales edged up just 0.1% (5.7% y/y) after June's 0.4% increase (unrevised). Durable goods sales fell 0.6% (+4.8% y/y), led down by motor vehicle and parts wholesale shipments, -3.1% m/m, and also including electronics (not computers), hardware and machinery. Sales were up at wholesalers of furniture, lumber, computers and metals. Sales by wholesalers of nondurable goods gained 0.7% (+6.4% y/y), widespread by industry and especially at petroleum dealers, up 1.9%, and beer, wine and alcoholic beverage distributors, up 2.1%. Only druggist supplies and miscellaneous nondurables saw decreases.
The wholesale sector's inventory-to-sales ratio remained at 1.17, the lowest level since September 2011. The durable goods ratio rose to 1.58 and that in nondurable goods eased further 0.83.
The wholesale trade figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
| Wholesale Sector - NAICS Classification (%) | Jul | Jun | May | Y/Y | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inventories | 0.1 | -0.2 | -0.6 | 2.2 | 5.5 | 9.2 | 10.5 |
| Sales | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 12.8 | 12.1 |
| I/S Ratio | 1.17 | 1.17 | 1.18 | 1.21(Jul 2012) | 1.19 | 1.17 | 1.17 |
Carol Stone, CBE
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Carol Stone, CBE came to Haver Analytics in 2003 following more than 35 years as a financial market economist at major Wall Street financial institutions, most especially Merrill Lynch and Nomura Securities. She has broad experience in analysis and forecasting of flow-of-funds accounts, the federal budget and Federal Reserve operations. At Nomura Securites, among other duties, she developed various indicator forecasting tools and edited a daily global publication produced in London and New York for readers in Tokyo. At Haver Analytics, Carol is a member of the Research Department, aiding database managers with research and documentation efforts, as well as posting commentary on select economic reports. In addition, she conducts Ways-of-the-World, a blog on economic issues for an Episcopal-Church-affiliated website, The Geranium Farm. During her career, Carol served as an officer of the Money Marketeers and the Downtown Economists Club. She has a PhD from NYU's Stern School of Business. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and has a weekend home on Long Island.
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