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US: Business Inventories
| Consensus | Consensus Range | Actual | Previous | Revised | |
| Month over Month | 0.0% | -0.1% to 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| Manufacturing Inventories | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | ||
| Retail Inventories | 0.1% | -0.1% | -0.4% | ||
| Wholesale Inventories | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
Highlights
Total business inventories are up 0.1 percent month-over-month in December after unchanged in November. December inventories are up 1.6 percent compared to a year ago. Manufacturers' inventories are up 0.1 percent in December after a rise of 0.2 percent in November. Merchant wholesalers' inventories are up 0.2 percent in December and November.
Retailers' inventories are up 0.1 percent after dipping 0.4 percent in November. Retail inventories excluding motor vehicles are up 0.4 percent in December after no change in November. Lower motor vehicle inventories may be in part due to the government shutdown of October 1-November 12 which slowed the processing of imported goods.
Market Consensus Before Announcement
Inventories seen flat in December after edging up 0.1 percent in November.
* Originally scheduled for 2/17/2026
Definition
Business inventories are the dollar amount of inventories held by manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. The level of inventories in relation to sales is an important indicator of the near-term direction of production activity.
Description
Investors need to monitor the economy closely because it usually dictates how various types of investments will perform. The stock market likes to see healthy economic growth because that translates to higher corporate profits. The bond market prefers more moderate growth that won't generate inflationary pressures.
Rising inventories can be an indication of business optimism that sales will be growing in the coming months. By looking at the ratio of inventories to sales, investors can see whether production demands will expand or contract in the near future. For example, if inventory growth lags sales growth, then manufacturers will have to boost production lest commodity shortages occur. On the other hand, if unintended inventory accumulation occurs (that is, sales do not meet expectations), then production will probably have to slow while those inventories are worked down. In this manner, the business inventory data provide a valuable forward-looking tool for tracking the economy.
