Distrib. Trade Sales & Manu. Shipments Rose 0.9% in October

Washington, DC, December 16, 2020-The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for October was estimated at $1,482.3 billion, up 0.9% from September 2020 and was up 2.2% from October 2019.

Manufacturers’ and trade inventories for October, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $1,948.7 billion, up 0.7% from September 2020, but were down 4.0% from October 2019.

The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of October was 1.31. The October 2019 ratio was 1.40.