The U.S. Census Bureau released its monthly wholesale trade report on June 8 for April, showing that industry sales narrowly ticked up month-to-month, with a healthier increase year-over-year.
The figures showed that April 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 $663.8 billion. That was up 0.1% from the revised March level and up 1.4% from the revised April 2023 level.
Here’s how April U.S. merchant wholesaler sales fared in durable goods categories:
| Category & April ‘24 Total | vs. March | vs. April‘23 |
| Automotive, $52.90B | +1.1% | +9.0% |
| Furniture, $8.71B | +2.0% | -0.9% |
| Lumber, $17.65B | -1.5% | -1.9% |
| Professional Equipment, $50.30B | +2.3% | +4.8% |
| Computer Equipment, $23.92B | +2.6% | +2.4% |
| Metals, $18.17B | +0.7% | -10.6% |
| Electrical, $68.72B | +0.1% | +4.1% |
| Hardware, $19.78B | +0.8% | +3.8% |
| Machinery, $51.34B | -0.8% | 0.0% |
| Miscellaneous, $26.22B | -2.8% | -4.3% |
Inventories
The report showed that total inventories for merchant wholesalers ended April at $895.8 billion, up 0.1% from March’s revised mark, and down 1.7% year-over-year.
Inventories/Sales Ratio
The April inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers was 1.35, up from March’s 1.34 and down from April 2023’s 1.39.
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