Business Inventories Rise in December

Business inventories rose 0.4% in December while sales increased by the most in five months, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The stockpiles gain followed a 0.3% increase in November.

Sales rose 0.7%, the most since July.

The December inventories increase was lower than economists’ projections of a 0.5% rise, Bloomberg reported.

Factory inventories, which make up about two-fifths of the total, edged up 0.1%, while wholesale inventories, which make up about 30%, rose 1%.

When sales are growing, it usually means trucking is seeing additional demand to deliver goods and restock shelves.