Business inventories rise 0.3% in May, sales grow 0.4%

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Source: MarketWatch

Market Pulse
Business inventories rise 0.3% in May, sales grow 0.4%
By Ruth Mantell
Published: July 14, 2015 10:05 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Inventories at U.S. businesses rose 0.3% in May, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected growth of 0.4%, matching April's result. Business sales were up 0.4% in May, slower than April's growth of 0.5%. The inventory-to-sales ratio, an indication of demand, was unchanged at 1.36.

Read more: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/business-inventories-rise-03-in-may-sales-grow-04-2015-07-14

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Manufacturing & Trade Inventories & Sales

May 2015 Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales report

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2015 AT 10:00 A.M. EDT

Rebecca DeNale (Retail): [phone] CB15-116
William Abriatis (Wholesale): [phone]
Adriana Stoica (Manufacturing): [phone]

MANUFACTURING AND TRADE INVENTORIES AND SALES
May 2015

Sales. The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that the combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for May, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,323.6 billion, up 0.4 percent (±0.2%) from April 2015, but was down 2.2 percent (±0.4%) from May 2014.

Inventories. Manufacturers’ and trade inventories, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $1,797.8 billion, up 0.3 percent (±0.1%) from April 2015 and were up 2.4 percent (±0.5%) from May 2014.

Inventories/Sales Ratio. The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of May was 1.36. The May 2014 ratio was 1.30.