MNI DATA IMPACT: US Feb Business Inventories Rise 0.3%>

--Retail Inventories Up 0.3% 

--Total Business Inventories Excluding Retail Auto Rise 0.3%

--Unpublished Retail Components Up 0.8%, MNI Calculation Shows

By Harrison Clarke and Shikha Dave

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The value of business inventories in February 

was up 0.3% from January, as expected by both an MNI survey and the 

Bloomberg consensus, data released by the Commerce Department Thursday 

morning showed. 

     Retail inventories posted 0.3% gain, while the wholesale 

inventories report showed a 0.2% increase in the month, and factory 

inventories were already reported to be up 0.3%. 

     According to an MNI calculation, if a 0.3% increase in motor 

vehicle inventories had been excluded, total business inventories would 

have been up 0.3% in February.  

     After excluding the increase in motor vehicle inventories, the 

remaining retail categories were up 0.3%. All of the other retail 

inventory components were generally up in February. 

     At the same time, the relatively large unpublished retail category 

rose 0.8% following a 0.7% increase in January, according to an MNI 

calculation. 

     February business sales posted a 0.1% increase in the month, and 

retail sales excluding food services were down 0.3% in February. There 

was a previously announced 0.4% increase for factory shipments, which 

are equal to sales in this report, and wholesale sales posted a 0.3% 

gain. 

     The inventory-to-sales ratio was unchanged in February from 1.39 in 

January due to comparable growth in inventories compared to sales in 

February. The ratio was up from the 1.36 level seen in February 2018, as 

inventory growth has slightly outpaced sales growth over the last year. 

     ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

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