CURRENT BUSINESS REPORTS

Monthly Wholesale Trade

Sales and Inventories

U.S. Department of Commerce

ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS ADMINISTRATION                                  May 2002
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Sales

May 2002 sales of merchant wholesalers, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but 
not for price changes, were $227.8 billion, down 0.2 percent (+/-0.5%) from the revised April level, but were up 
0.2 percent (+/-1.4%) from the May 2001 level. The April preliminary estimate was revised downward $0.3 billion or 
0.2 percent.  Among durable goods, sales of lumber and other construction materials were down 2.4 percent from last 
month, while electrical goods increased 2.3 percent. Among nondurable goods, sales of petroleum and petroleum products 
decreased 4.4 percent from April and farm products raw materials fell 2.7 percent. 
  
Inventories

Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes,were $281.4 
billion at the end of May, up 0.1 percent (+/-0.3%) from last month,  but were down 7.2  percent (+/-2.0%)  from a year ago. 
The April preliminary estimate was revised downward $0.6 billion or 0.2 percent. Among durable goods, inventories of motor 
vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies increased 2.5 percent, while machinery, equipment and supplies decreased 1.6 percent. 
End-of-month inventories of nondurable goods increased 0.6 percent (+/-0.5%) from last month, but were down 0.9 percent (+/-3.6%) 
from a year ago. Compared to last month, inventories of paper and paper products were up 1.7 percent.  


Inventories/Sales Ratio

The May inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.24.  
The May 2001 ratio was 1.33.


SOURCE: Monthly Wholesale Trade Sales and Inventories-- May 
(For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
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