May 9, 2005 8:55 AM, EDT

Wholesale Inventories Rise in March

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holesale inventories increased 0.4% to $346.7 billion in March, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

The increase followed a 0.6% jump the prior month. Wholesalers' sales rose 0.2% in March after falling 0.5%.

When inventories and sales increase, it usually means trucking companies received additional demand to deliver goods to stores.

Inventories of durable goods at wholesalers, which include imported cars and computers, rose 0.1% in March after rising 0.5%.

Stockpiles of non-durable goods jumped 1% in March after a 0.8% rise. Sales of such goods rose 0.9% in March after no change the previous month.

Commerce said the inventory-to-sales ratio, a measure of how long supplies on hand would last at the current sales rate, held at 1.19 months, matching the highest since November 2003.

Wholesalers account for about a fourth of all business inventories. Retailers and factories account for the rest.