Global| Feb 09 2012U.S. Wholesale Inventories & Sales are Strong Again
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Inventories at the wholesale level jumped 1.0% (10.0% y/y) during December following no change in November. For all of last year inventories rose 10.0% following an 11.1% gain during 2010. Higher inventories of apparel (17.5% y/y), [...]
Inventories at the wholesale level jumped 1.0% (10.0% y/y) during December following no change in November. For all of last year inventories rose 10.0% following an 11.1% gain during 2010. Higher inventories of apparel (17.5% y/y), motor vehicles (17.1% y/y) and petroleum (16.1% y/y) were areas of December's strength as well as strong for the year. Excluding petroleum, inventories rose 0.9% (9.7% y/y) in December after a slight November decline.
Sales in the wholesale sector jumped 1.3% (11.8% y/y). A 0.4% gain had been expected. Petroleum sales rose 0.6% (16.5% y/y) and without petroleum sales jumped 1.4% (11.1% y/y). Again, sales of apparel were strong (9.3% y/y) as were motor vehicles (25.0% y/y). In addition, machinery purchases rose 5.2% for the month and 22.3% December-to-December.
The wholesale sector's inventory-to-sales ratio held at 1.15 for December and for the year. Stability was apparent in both durable as well as nondurable goods industries.
The wholesale trade figures are available in Haver's USECON database. The expectation figure is in AS1REPNA.
| Wholesale Sector - NAICS Classification (%) | Dec | Nov | Oct | Y/Y | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inventories | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 11.1 | -11.8 |
| Sales | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 11.8 | 14.2 | 12.6 | -16.1 |
| I/S Ratio | 1.15 | 1.15 | 1.15 | 1.18 | 1.15 | 1.16 | 1.30 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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