Monthly Wholesale Trade: Sales and Inventories   CHART

December 2009 sales of merchant wholesalers were $341.2 billion, up 0.8 percent (+/-0.9%) from last month. End-of-month inventories were $383.6 billion, down 0.8 percent (+/-0.5%) from last month.

Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders   CHART

New orders for manufactured goods in December increased $3.7 billion or 1.0 percent to $370.4 billion.

Housing Vacancies and Homeownership   CHART

Homeownership Rate (HR)
The homeownership rate in the fourth quarter 2009 (67.2 percent) was not statistically different from the fourth quarter 2008 rate (67.5 percent). In the South, the homeownership rate was lower than a year ago, while no other region showed any significant change from corresponding fourth quarter 2008 rates.

Rental Vacancy Rate (RVR)
The rental vacancy rate in fourth quarter 2009 (10.7 percent) was higher than the the fourth quarter 2008 rate (10.1 percent).

Homeowner Vacancy Rate (HVR)
The homeowner vacancy rate in fourth quarter 2009 (2.7 percent), was not statistically different from the fourth quarter 2008 rate (2.9 percent).

Construction Spending   CHART

Total construction activity for December 2009 ($902.5 billion) was 1.2 percent below the revised November 2009 ($913.2 billion). Please see our web site for further details: http://www.census.gov/constructionspending

Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders   CHART

New orders for manufactured durable goods in December increased $0.5 billion or 0.3 percent to $167.9 billion.

New Home Sales   CHART

Sales of new one-family houses in December 2009 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 342,000. This is 7.6% below the revised November 2009 estimate of 370,000.

Housing Starts/Building Permits   CHART

Privately-owned housing starts in December 2009 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 557,000. This is 4.0 percent below the revised November 2009 estimate of 580,000.

Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales   CHART

U.S. total business sales for November 2009 were $1,027.4 billion, up 2.0% from last month. Month end inventories were $1,313.2 billion, but virtually unchanged from last month.

NOTICE OF CORRECTION: The Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales (MTIS) release for November 2009 was revised on January 28, 2010 to reflect revisions issued to the November 2009 Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) release on January 15, 2010. As a result, the seasonally adjusted November 2008 estimates for manufacturers and total business were updated in the November 2009 MTIS release. Updates to the MTIS release impacted the level estimates and the November 2009 to November 2008 year-to-year change estimates for manufacturers and total business sales and inventories and the November 2008 inventories/sales ratio. Historic time series were updated to reflect revised information back to January 2001. For further information on the M3 revision, please see http://www.census.gov/m3.

*Be advised, due to inclement weather, the December 2009 MTIS release is rescheduled from Thursday, February 11 at 8:30 am EST to Friday, February 12 at 8:30 am EST.

Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services   CHART

U.S. retail and food service sales for December reached $353.0 billion, a decrease of 0.3 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month.

*Be advised, due to inclement weather, the January 2010 MARTS release is rescheduled from Thursday, February 11 at 8:30 am EST to Friday, February 12 at 8:30 am EST.

U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services   CHART

The Nation's international trade deficit increased to $36.4 billion in November from $33.2 billion (revised) in October, as imports increased more than exports.

Quarterly Financial Report - Retail Trade   CHART

After-tax profits for retail corporations with assets greater than $50 million averaged 2.3 cents per dollar of sales for the third quarter 2009 (the 3 months ending Oct. 31, 2009), down 0.3 (+/- 0.1) cents from the after-tax profits average of 2.6 cents for the second quarter 2009 (the 3 months ending Jul. 31, 2009).

Quarterly Financial Report - Manufacturing, Mining and Trade   CHART

Manufacturing corporations' seasonally adjusted after-tax profits averaged 6.8 cents per dollar of sales for the third quarter of 2009, up 2.7 (+/- 0.1) cents from the after-tax profits average of 4.2 cents for the second quarter of 2009.

Quarterly Services Survey   CHART

U.S. Information sector revenue for the third quarter of 2009, adjusted for seasonal variation but not for price changes, was $272.2 billion, a decrease of 0.7 percent (+/- 0.5) from the second quarter of 2009.