Distributor Sales and Manu. Shipments Rose 1.4% in September

Washington, DC, November 15, 2017-The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for September was estimated at $1,389.7 billion, up 1.4% from August 2017 and was up 6.4% from September 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Manufacturers’ and trade inventories were estimated at an end-of-month level of $1,888.7 billion, virtually unchanged from August 2017, but were up 3.5% from September 2016.

The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of September was 1.36. The September 2016 ratio was 1.40.