Wholesale Inventories Rise Third Straight Month

Washington, DC, May 11. 2010--Wholesale inventories rose for a third month in March, according to the Commerce Department.

The 0.4 percent gain in the value of stockpiles followed a 0.6 percent increase the prior month, the Commerce Department said. Sales gained 2.4 percent, the most since November.

The amount of goods on hand compared to sales dropped to the lowest level on record, indicating factories will need to keep increasing production.

Economists forecast wholesale inventories would rise 0.5 percent.

At the current sales pace, wholesalers had enough goods on hand to last 1.13 months, down from 1.16 in February and the least since comparable records began in 1992.

The value of goods sold increased to $348 billion, the most since October 2008.

The need to rebuild depleted inventories is one reason manufacturing is picking up. The Institute for Supply Management said last week that its factory index rose to 60.4 in April, the highest level in almost six years. Fifty is the dividing line between expansion and contraction.