Posted on 05/16/2023 8:36:44 AM PDT by ConservativeInPA
U.S. businesses slightly lowered their inventories in March as spending tightened and consumers prioritized services over goods. Business inventories declined by an adjusted 0.1% in March after being flat in February, data from the U.S. Commerce Department showed Tuesday.
February's reading was revised from an initially estimated 0.2% increase. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected inventories would be flat.
Inventories rose by 0.7% at retailers, were flat at wholesalers and slid 0.8% at manufacturers. On an annual basis, total business inventories were up 6.5%, the data showed. The ratio of inventories to sales, which hints at how many months it would take for businesses to clear their inventories at the current sales rate, edged up to 1.39 in March from 1.38 a month earlier. The ratio was 1.3 in March 2022.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
Rising retail inventories is never a good indicator. Falling manufacturing inventories tells you where the inflation is hitting—and that’s coming (or not) to a store near you in three months..
I’m only making what I need and can sell. No cash flow for extra inventory due to rising energy costs, freight, materials, merch, etc...
Exactly. And when “demand” ramps up again, how long would it take to kick your production up again. During that lag time is when the next inflation cycle kicks in.
AI will have taken over. Like it is doing to Fast Food.
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