–Excluding Autos, Wholesale Inventories Up 0.4%, Sales Down 0.3%
By Kevin Kastner
WASHINGTON (MNI) – The value of wholesale inventories rose 0.4% in
January, while sales fell 0.1%, data released Friday morning by the
Commerce Department showed.
As a result, the overall inventory-to-sales ratio was slightly
higher before rounding, 1.151 in January vs 1.145 in December, though
after rounding, the ratio printed at 1.15 for the sixth straight month.
The inventory-to-sales ratio was 1.14 in January 2011.
The value of durable inventories rose 0.8% in the month, with auto
inventories up 0.5% and the large machinery category up 1.2%. The
remaining durables components were mixed, but generally higher.
Nondurables inventories fell 0.2% on declines in a number of
categories, though petroleum inventories rose 2.3%.
Durables goods sales fell 0.2%, led by a 1.8% decline in machinery
sales. Wholesale automotive sales rose 2.4% in January after a 5.2%
surge in December.
Nondurable goods sales fell 0.1%, with a 0.1% decline in grocery
sales, offset by a 0.1% rise in petroleum sales. Other nondurables sales
components were mixed.
Excluding the auto category, wholesale inventories would have been
up 0.4% in January after a 0.9% rise in the previous month. Sales would
have been down 0.3% in January if auto sales were excluded. This
followed a 1.1% rise in December.
Before seasonal adjustment, January sales rose 11.3% from January
2011, while wholesale inventories were up 9.0% over that same period.
Factory inventories already reported +0.6% in January, so the
outlook for business inventory growth appears strongly positive pending
the retail inventories data when they are released.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]
