AUTOREFRESH 
US December Wholesale Inventories Rise 1.0%; Sales Up 1.3%
–Excluding Autos, Wholesale Inventories Up 0.1%, Sales Up 1.1%
By Kevin Kastner
WASHINGTON (MNI) – The value of wholesale inventories rose 1.0% in
December, while sales rose 1.3%, data released Thursday morning by the
Commerce Department showed.
As a result, the overall inventory-to-sales ratio held steady at
1.15, but was still down slightly from 1.16 in December 2010.
The value of durable inventories rose 0.7% in the month, with auto
inventories up 2.8%. The remaining durables components were mixed.
Nondurables inventories rose 1.3%, with gains in every component
except a 3.5% drop in the value of farm products inventories. Petroleum
inventories rose 2.2%.
Durables goods sales rose 2.4%, led by a 5.2% rise in machinery and
a 3.9% increase in automotive sales. The relatively small lumber
category also posted a 9.3% surge.
Nondurable goods sales rose 0.4%, with a 1.9% rise in grocery sales
and a 5.3% jump in apparel sales. Petroleum sales rose only 0.6%.
Excluding the auto category, wholesale inventories would have been
up 0.8% in December after a 0.1% rise in the previous month. Sales would
have been up 1.1% in December if auto sales was excluded. This followed
a 0.6% rise in November.
Before seasonal adjustment, December sales rose 9.0% from December
2010. For 2011 as a whole, wholesale sales were rose 13.9% to $4.761
trillion from the $4.180 trillion in sales in 2010.
Wholesale inventories were up 9.8% in December from a year ago,
staying slightly ahead of sales.
Factory inventories already reported +0.1% in Dec, so the outlook
for business inventory growth appears positive pending the retail
inventories data when they are released.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]
Add a comment