WASHINGTON – U.S. wholesale inventories rebounded moderately in October amid a small rise in stocks of long-lasting manufactured goods.
The Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on Monday that wholesale inventories increased 0.2% as estimated last month.
Stocks at wholesalers fell 0.2% in September. Economists polled by Reuters had expected that the gain in inventories, a key part of gross domestic product, would be unrevised at 0.2%.
Inventories rose 0.9% on a year-on-year basis in October.
Inventories could increase in the months ahead as businesses fearful of higher tariffs stockpile goods. President-elect Donald Trump has said he would impose a 25% tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China on his first day in office.
Durable goods inventories edged up 0.1%, lifted by stocks at furniture, professional equipment, and lumber wholesalers. But motor vehicle inventories fell 0.1% while those of electrical goods declined 1.0%.
Stocks of nondurable goods increased 0.3%, with strong rises in inventories of groceries and medication.
Private inventory investment was a small drag on GDP in the third quarter. The economy grew at a 2.8% annualized rate in the July-September quarter.
Sales at wholesalers dipped 0.1% in October after rising 0.5% in September. At October’s sales pace, it would take wholesalers 1.34 months to clear shelves, unchanged from September.
