February 2009

December 2008 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $336.1 billion, down 3.6% from November and down 10.7% from the December 2007 level, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
 
The November preliminary estimate was revised downward $0.7 billion or 0.2%. December sales of durable goods were down 2.0% from last month and were down 9.4% from a year ago.
 
Compared to last month, sales of lumber and other construction materials were down 8.6% and sales of motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies were down 8.1%. Sales of nondurable goods were down 4.9% from last month and were down 11.8% from last year. Sales of …

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index fell further in January. The index stands at 96.6, down 1% from the December revised figure of 97.5, and down 18.6% from a year ago.
 
The Employment Trends Index has recently been declining faster than at any time since the 1974 recession, said Gad Levanon, senior economist at The Conference Board. “Such declines suggest considerable job losses will persist for several more months. It is becoming clearer that the continued worsening economic conditions are forcing many companies to make further downward adjustments to their workforce.”  
 
The 18-month-long decline in the Employment Trends Index is seen in all eight of its components, most notably over the past six months in …

New orders for manufactured goods in December, down five consecutive months, decreased $14.8 billion or 3.9% to $362.4 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported in the preliminary report on Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders.
 
This was the longest streak of consecutive monthly decreases since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 6.5% November decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 4.4%.
 
Shipments, also down five consecutive months, decreased $11.3 billion or 2.9% to $377.6 billion. This was the longest streak of consecutive monthly decreases since March-July 1998 and followed a 6.5% November decrease. Unfilled orders, down three consecutive months, decreased $11 billion or 1.4% to $801.9 billion. …