Business inventories were estimated at $2,036.4 billion for May, up 0.3% (±0.1%) from April 2019 and 5.3% (±0.4%) from May 2018. That’s slightly less than the consensus forecast but follows a 0.5% build in April.
| Indicator | Prior | Consensus Forecast | Forecast Range | Result |
| Inventories – M/M ∆ | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.2% to 0.4% | 0.3% |
Data are adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes.
Sales
The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for May was estimated at $1,461.4 billion, up 0.2 percent (±0.2
percent)* from April 2019 and was up 1.5 percent (±0.4 percent) from May 2018.
Inventories/Sales Ratio
The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of May was only slightly higher at 1.39. The May 2018 ratio was 1.34.
