Business Inventories Little Changed in March

Business inventories were little changed in March, but sales fell by the most in nine months, the Commerce Department said Monday.

Inventories were little changed for the second month in a row as February’s figure was revised from a 0.1% increase. Sales declined 1.1%, the biggest drop since June 2012.

Economists’ median forecast was for a 0.3% increase in inventories, Bloomberg News reported.

Excluding automobile dealers, retailer inventories declined 0.6% in March, the biggest decline since September 2009.

When sales are growing, trucking usually faces additional demand to deliver goods and restock shelves.