–Excluding Autos, Wholesale Inventories Up 1.7%, Sales Up 0.7%
–Farm Products Inventories Up 14.4%, Sales Up 11.7%
By Kevin Kastner
WASHINGTON (MNI) – The value of wholesale inventories rose 1.6% in
October, while sales rose 0.9%, data released Thursday morning by the
Commerce Department showed.
As a result, the overall inventory-to-sales ratio rose to 1.16 in
October from 1.15 in September, but was still down from 1.18 in October
2010.
The value of durable inventories rose 0.8% in the month, with auto
inventories up 0.9%, electrical inventories up 1.3% and machinery
inventories up 0.2%.
Nondurables inventories surged 2.8%, as petroleum inventories were
up 5.7% and farm products inventories surged 14.4%.
Durables goods sales fell 0.1%, led by a 6.8% drop in miscellaneous
durables. However, auto sales were up 3.9%.
Nondurable goods sales rose 1.7%, lifted by a sharp 11.7% increase
in farm products sales, a 0.6% rise in grocery sales, and rebound in the
sales of drugs and apparel. Petroleum sales were flat in the month.
Excluding the auto category, wholesale inventories would have been
up 1.7% in October after a flat reading in the previous month. Sales
would have been up 0.7% in October if auto sales was excluded. This
followed a 0.2% rise in September.
Before seasonal adjustment, October sales rose 12.8% from
October 2010, while inventories posted a 10.9% increase from a year
ago.
Factory inventories were already reported up 0.9% in October, 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$]
