The U.S. Census Bureau announced that August 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 $404.9 billion, down 1.0 percent from the revised July level, but up 13.4 percent from the August 2007 level.
 
The July preliminary estimate was revised downward $1.7 billion or 0.4 percent. August sales of durable goods were down 1.5 percent from last month, but were up 5.5 percent from a year ago. Compared to last month, sales of hardware, and plumbing and heating equipment and supplies were down 6.5 percent and sales of lumber and other construction materials were down 5.2 percent.
 
Sales of nondurable goods were down 0.6 percent …