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10:00am 06/09/04 U.S. APRIL WHOLESALE INVENTORIES DOWN 0.1%
10:00am 06/09/04 U.S. APRIL WHOLESALE SALES UP 0.8%
10:00am 06/09/04 U.S. WHOLESALE INVENTORY-SALES RATIO RECORD LOW 1.12

ECONOMIC REPORT: Wholesale inventories shrink; Warehouse stocks at record low level in relation to sales
By Rex Nutting, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 10:02 AM ET June 9, 2004

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - Inventories at U.S. merchant wholesalers fell 0.1 percent in April, the first decline since August, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday.

With sales rising a healthy 0.8 percent as inventories fell, the inventory-to-sales ratio dropped to a record low 1.12.

The typical wholesaler has stocks on hand to supply 34 days of sales. Companies try to keep their stocks as low as possible without losing market share. New technologies and systems are allowing increasingly lean inventories.

In March, sales increased an upwardly revised 2.9 percent, a 10-year high. Inventories increased a downwardly revised 0.5 percent in March.

Sales of durable goods increased 1.5 percent in April while inventories were flat, pushing the inventory/sales ratio to a record low 1.37. Auto inventories fell 1 percent while sales increased 1.2 percent.

Sales of nondurable goods increased 0.2 percent in April while inventories fell 0.2 percent. The inventory-to-sales ratio remained at a record low 0.88. Petroleum sales fell 1.5 percent while inventories fell 0.6 percent.

The report, covering data more than a month old, is expected to have little impact in financial markets.

The report indicates that wholesalers have not been able to keep up with rising demand from their customers. Economists expect inventory rebuilding to lead to higher production and growth in coming quarters even if demand flattens out.

In the past year, wholesale sales have risen 15.1 percent. Inventories have increased by 3.7 percent. The figures are not adjusted for price changes.

In a sign of strong demand and higher prices, sales of metals have increased 51.3 percent in the past year, lumber sales are up 47.6 percent, farm products are up 32 percent and petroleum is up 29.5 percent.