US: Sales of merchant wholesalers were $480.5 billion, up 1.3% August

"September 2017 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 $480.5 billion, up
1.3 percent from the revised August level and were up 8.5 percent from the September 2016 level," the US Census Bureau announced on Thursday.

Key highlights

The July 2017 to August 2017 percent change was revised from the preliminary estimate of up 1.7 percent to up 1.9 percent.

Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $609.5 billion at the end of September, up 0.3 percent from the revised August level.

Total inventories were up 4.6 percent from the revised September 2016 level. 

The September inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.27. The September 2016 ratio was 1.32.