Distrib. Trade Sales & Manufacturers Shipments Ticked Down in Sept.

Washington, DC, November 15, 2019-The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for September was estimated at $1,459.4 billion, down 0.2% from August 2019, but was up 0.5% from September 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Manufacturers’ and trade inventories were estimated at an end-of-month level of $2,041.5 billion, virtually unchanged from August 2019, but were up 3.7% from September 2018.

The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of September was 1.40. The September 2018 ratio was 1.36.