The U.S. Census Bureau announced that September 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 $396.2 billion, down 1.5 percent from the revised August level, but up 9.1 percent from the September 2007 level. The August preliminary estimate was revised downward $2.5 billion or 0.6 percent. September sales of durable goods were down 1.0 percent from last month, but were up 3.5 percent from a year ago. Sales of nondurable goods were down 1.9 percent from last month, but were up 14.1 percent from last year. Sales of farm product raw materials were down 7.8 percent from last month and sales of chemicals and allied products were down 4.6 …