Distrib. Trade Sales & Manu. Shipments Up 8.6% YOY in May

Washington, DC, July 16, 2018-The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for May was estimated at $1,449.7 billion, up 1.4% from April 2018 and was up 8.6% from May 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Manufacturers’ and trade inventories were estimated at an end-of-month level of $1,936.9 billion, up 0.4% from April 2018 and were up 4.4% from May 2017.

The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of May was 1.34. The May 2017 ratio was 1.39.