US: Manufacturers’ and trade inventories were estimated at $1,854.2 billion

Manufacturers’ and trade inventories, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $1,854.2 billion, down 0.2 percent from March 2017, but were up 2.3 percent from April 2016, reported the US Census Bureau on Wednesday.

• The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for April, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,352.0 billion, virtually unchanged from March 2017, but was up 5.6 percent from April 2016. 
• The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of April was 1.37. The April 2016 ratio was 1.42.