U.S. Wholesale Inventories Slip Again in April

By Dean Seal

U.S. wholesale inventories ticked down again in April as the upward trajectory seen throughout the pandemic continues to unwind in 2023, according to data from the Commerce Department published Thursday.

Inventories of U.S. merchant wholesalers slipped 0.1% in April compared with the previous month. The stock of unsold goods held by wholesalers also fell sequentially in March by a revised 0.2%.

Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected wholesale inventories to decline 0.2% in April. Wholesale inventories data isn't adjusted for inflation.

Inventories of durable goods rose 0.6% on month as gains in machinery and metals offset drops in lumber and computer equipment. Nondurable goods inventories fell by 1.2%, pulled down by farm products, paper and apparel, though petroleum and groceries were higher in April.

Total inventories were up 6.3% in April compared with a revised figure from the same month in 2022, according to the Commerce Department's data.

The ratio of inventories to sales, which suggests how many months it would take for wholesalers to clear their inventories at the current sales rate, was 1.4, roughly flat with 1.41 last month and up from 1.27 in the same month a year ago.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 08, 2023 10:44 ET (14:44 GMT)

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