The Econoday consensus range for wholesale inventories was 0.5% to 0.6% in line with the advance estimate. Instead, the Census Department reported March Wholesale Inventories at +0.3%. February was revised a tad lower, to +0.9% from +1.0%.
Sales: March 2018 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $497.9 billion, up 0.3 percent (±0.5 percent)* from the revised February level and were up 7.3 percent (±0.9 percent) from the March 2017 level. The January 2018 to February 2018 percent change was revised from the preliminary estimate of up 1.0 percent (±0.5 percent) to up 1.1 percent (±0.5 percent).
Inventories: Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $627.4 billion at the end of March, up 0.3 percent (±0.2 percent) from the revised February level. Total inventories were up 5.5 percent (±0.7 percent) from the revised March 2017 level. The February 2018 to March 2018 percent change was revised from the advance estimate of up 0.5 percent (±0.2 percent) to up 0.3 percent (±0.2 percent).
Inventories/Sales Ratio: The March inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.26. The March 2017 ratio was 1.28.
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It’s the second week in May but we are still looking at numbers that tie directly into first-quarter GDP.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock