Highlights
Wholesale inventories rose 0.5 percent in February vs. a 0.6 percent rise in January. Year-on-year, wholesale inventories were up 8.3 percent. Sales at the wholesale level, boosted by price changes for petroleum, rose 1.2 percent, at a 7.1 percent year-on-year pace, to bring down the inventory-to-sales ratio one tenth to 1.15.

But wholesale sales of durable goods fell 0.8 percent, a contrast to a 0.3 percent rise in related inventories that could point, for a second month, to unwanted backup. The decline in durable sales at the wholesale level was broad based in February including autos, electrical goods, machinery and led by lumber. But note that today's strong jump in construction jobs may point to a sales gain for lumber in March's data.

In fact, the strong jobs report and the prospect of steady economic growth will ease concern over unwanted inventories. Business inventory data will be released a week from Monday.

2007 Release Schedule

Released On: 1/10 2/8 3/9 4/6 5/8 6/7 7/10 8/8 9/7 10/10 11/7 12/11 Released For: Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct