Wholesale revenues in January were $463.6 billion, up 8.4 percent from January 2016 and down 0.1 percent from December 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
January sales of durable goods were up 0.1 percent from last month and up 7.4 percent from a year ago. Sales of electrical and electronic goods were down 2 percent from last month and sales of metals and minerals, except petroleum were up 0.6 percent. Sales of nondurable goods were up 0.3 percent from December and up 9.3 percent from last January. Sales of farm product raw materials were down 1.5 percent from last month and sales of petroleum and petroleum products were down 1.3 percent.
Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $600 billion at the end of January, down 0.2 percent from the revised December level. Total inventories are up 2.2 percent from the revised January 2016 level. January inventories of durable goods were up 1.8 percent from last month and up 0.7 percent from a year ago. Inventories of metals and minerals, except petroleum were up 7.3 percent from last month, while inventories of furniture and home furnishings were up 7.1 percent. Inventories of nondurable goods were up 2.3 percent from December. Inventories of drugs and druggists' sundries were up 7.3 percent from last month and inventories of petroleum and petroleum products were up 3.5 percent
The January inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.29. The January 2016 ratio was 1.37.
