June Wholesale Inventories Unchanged, Sales up 1.5%

August 7, 2003 10:00 AM, EDT

U.S. wholesalers kept their inventories flat for a third straight month in June, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Sales by wholesalers did increase, however, by 1.5% — the largest increase since April.

Wholesale inventories totaled $289 billion in June, Commerce said.

Imported vehicle, machinery, appliances and other electronics sales led the increase in wholesale receipts.

The inventory-to-sales ratio was 1.22 months in June; meaning items sat on store shelves for an average of 1.22 months before being sold. The all-time low for the ratio of 1.21 months was set back in March.

Analysts said that as sales increase, companies will move to build their inventories, Bloomberg reported. That building of inventories could be good for trucking as more companies require more shipments of goods.