Trade Sales and Manufacturer Shipments Slipped in October

Washington, DC, December 11, 2015—The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for October was estimated at $1,317.7 billion, down 0.2% from September 2015 and down 2.7% from October 2014, announced the U.S. Census Bureau.

Manufacturers’ and trade inventories were estimated at an end-of-month level of $1,814.5 billion, virtually unchanged (±0.2%) from September 2015, but were up 2.0% from October 2014.

The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of October was 1.38. The October 2014 ratio was 1.31.