–Retail Auto Inventories Rise 1.7%, Account For Half Of Retail Gain
–Business Sales Up 0.5% in September, Led By The Retail Sector
By Kevin Kastner
WASHINGTON (MNI) – The value of business inventories rose in
September for the ninth straight month, with a solid retail gain adding
to already announced increases in the value of factory and wholesale
inventories, data released Monday morning by the Commerce Department
showed.
The 0.9% rise in business inventories met expectations, with retail
inventories up 0.8% to join the already reported 1.5% rise in wholesale
inventories and the 0.7% gain in factory inventories.
Retail motor vehicle inventories posted a 1.7% rise for the month,
while sales were up 1.5% in September. Without that inventory gain,
retail inventories would have been up only 0.4%, though overall business
inventories would still have been up 0.9%, based on a Market News
International calculation.
The other main retail components were all higher in the month,
though within the general merchandise category, department store
inventories fell 0.6% during the month when there was a small sales
decrease.
Business sales rose 0.5% in September on gains in all three levels
of production, particularly the retail sector. Sales were up sharply
from year ago, running 8.7% ahead of their September 2009 pace before
seasonal adjustment and 8.9% after seasonal adjustment.
At the same time, inventories were 6.2% above their year-ago levels
before seasonal adjustment and up 6.3% after seasonal adjustment.
The inventory-to-sales ratio held steady at 1.27 in September,
though the ratio was still below the 1.30 reported in September 2009.
With monthly inventory gains still outpacing sales, the data,
especially the inventory/sales ratio, still suggest that businesses are
cautiously holding the line against overstocking despite some signs of
sales improvement.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]
