REPEAT:MNI DATA ANALYSIS: US Wholesale Inventories Rises 0.8%>

Repeats Story Initially Transmitted at 15:00 GMT Mar 9

--Dec Wholesale Sales Down 1.1%;Inventory/Sales Ratio 1.26 Vs 1.23

--January Business Inv Tracking +0.6%, Business Sales -0.3%

By Holly Stokes and Sara Haire

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - January wholesale inventories saw a 0.8% 

rise, a slight upward revision from the 0.7% increase in the advance 

estimate, while wholesale sales saw a 1.1% decrease, data released 

Friday by the U.S. Commerce Department showed. 

     Since wholesale inventories saw a 1.1% decline and factory 

inventories reported a 0.3% gain last Friday, and barring no revision 

to the 0.8% retail inventories, an MNI calculation expects a 0.6% gain 

for business inventories, to be released March 14.  

     With the addition of the 1.1% decline in wholesale sales to the 

0.3% decrease for retail trade sales from last month's advanced sales 

release and the 0.6% increase for factory shipments reported on March 6, 

an MNI calculation indicates there will be a 0.3% decrease for business 

sales, barring a large revision to retail trade sales.  

--STRONGER YEAR/YEAR SALES

     Since January wholesale inventories increased, but wholesale sales 

saw a larger decrease, the inventory/sales ratio jumped to 1.26 from 

1.23 in December. Inventories year-over-year is up 4.8%, but sales have 

boomed in the past year, with a rise of 6.7% from January 2017. The 

ratio is below the 1.28 mark in January 2017, pointing to a faster sales 

pace than inventories in the past year. 

     Excluding the 0.7% rise in the auto category, wholesale inventories 

would have been up 0.9% in January after a 0.6% increase in December, an 

MNI calculation showed. 

     Wholesale sales excluding the 0.5% decline in autos would have been 

down further to 1.2% in January, following a 0.9% increase in December, 

with the year-over-year rate still strong at a 7.1% increase. 

--DURABLES AND NONDURABLE INVENTORIES RISE

     The value of durable inventories rose by 0.5% in the month, with 

auto inventories rising 0.7%. The remaining durables components were a 

mixed bag with mostly gains, but losses seen in lumber, professional 

equipment, computer equipment, and the miscellaneous durables 

categories. 

     Nondurables inventories were up 1.8% in January. The biggest 

increases were seen in drugs (+4.3%), farm products (+2.8%), and 

petroleum (+4.1%). The remaining categores were mainly positive, with 

paper, groceries, and chemicals being the exception, registering 

negatives in the month.

     Durables goods sales were down 1.4% in the month, with auto 

sales down 0.5%. The remaining categories saw mostly declines, with 

only professional equipment, computer equipment, and metals posting 

gains. 

     January nondurable goods sales were down 0.8% following December's 

1.0% gain. Most components were down, with drugs and petroleum sales 

posting the only gains for the month. Petroleum was up 0.8%, following a 

2.4% increase, and up 23.3% year-over-year. 

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