Wholesale Inventories, Sales Rise in January

nventories at U.S. wholesalers rose 0.1% to $295.8 billion in January after a revised 0.6% jump the month before, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Commerce also said wholesale sales rose 0.6% in January, after a 1.5% increase in December.

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

The inventory-to-sales ratio, a measure of how long supplies on hand would last at the current sales rate, held at 1.17 months after falling to that level in December.

Wholesale inventories of durable goods, including imported autos and parts, rose 0.6% in January, while wholesale sales of durable items rose 0.2%.

Wholesalers account for about 25% of all business inventories. Retailers and factories make up the rest.

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