Business Inventories Rise in October

Business inventories rose 0.8% in October while sales increased, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The stockpiles gain followed little change in September.

Sales rose 0.7%.

The October inventories increase matched economists’ projections, Bloomberg reported.

Factory inventories, which make up about two-fifths of the total, rose 0.9%, while wholesale inventories, which make up about 30%, climbed 1.6%.

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