Inventories in the manufacturing and trade sectors in the United States rose 0.3% in January to reach $1,982.4 billion, according to a report by the US Census Bureau released on Tuesday. On an annual basis, the figure was 1.8% lower than in January 2020.
The combined value of trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for the first month of 2021, adjusted for seasonal and trading day differences but not for price changes, came in at $1,568.5 billion, jumping 4.7% on a monthly basis and surging 7.1% year on year.
The ratio between business inventories and sales was 1.26 at the end of January, down from 1.38 a year ago
