Inventories Increase in January
Business sales fell 0.7% in January, while inventories increased 0.2%, the government said.
In relation to sales, inventory levels equaled a two-year high. The inventory-to-sales ratio rose to 1.30 from 1.28. The typical business has nearly 40 days' worth of sales on hand, up from 38 days in mid-2006. The last time businesses had more days of sales on hand was February 2005.
The 0.2% increase in inventories matched expectations of economists.
In the past year, business sales are up 1.9%, while inventories are up 5.7%. The figures are not adjusted for price changes.
In the retail sector, sales rose 0.1% in January. The retail inventory-to-sales ratio stayed at 1.47.
Retail auto inventories rose 0.6% while sales fell 0.9%. Automakers are trying to work down their inventories and have announced production cutbacks. In the retail auto sector, the inventory-to-sales ratio rose to 2.04 from 2.01.
Excluding autos, retail inventories were flat in January while sales rose 0.4%.
As reported earlier, manufacturing sales fell 1.2% while inventories fell 0.2%. The inventory-to-sales ratio rose to 1.23.
As reported earlier, wholesale sales fell 0.9% while inventories rose 0.7%. The inventory-to-sales ratio rose to 1.19 from 1.17.