Updated: 08-Feb-22 19:11 ET

November Business Inventories

Updated: 08-Feb-22 19:11 ET

Highlights

• Total business inventories declined 0.2% month-over-month in November, as expected, following a downwardly revised 0.1% increase (from 0.2%) in October.
• Total business sales were up 0.7% following a downwardly revised 0.2% decline (from -0.1%) in October.

Key Factors

• Manufacturers' and wholesalers' inventories were known ahead of time, so the missing variable was the report on retailers' inventories, which decreased 0.8% after increasing 0.1% in October.
• The decrease in retailers' inventories was led by a 1.8% decline in motor vehicle and parts dealers inventories.
• The inventories-to-sales ratio slipped to 1.39 from 1.40 in October, but it was up from 1.37 in the same period a year ago.

Big Picture

• The key takeaway from the report is that the gap between inventory growth on a yr/yr basis (+2.8%) and sales growth (+1.0%) should help keep prices in check.

Category	NOV	OCT	SEP	AUG	JUL
Inventories	-0.2%	0.1%	-0.1%	-0.1%	0.3%
Manufacturers	0.3%	0.2%	0.3%	-0.1%	0.1%
Retailers	-0.8%	0.1%	0.1%	-0.2%	0.7%
Wholesalers	-0.1%	0.1%	-0.7%	0.1%	0.2%
Sales	0.7%	-0.2%	-0.4%	0.1%	0.2%
Manufacturers	0.3%	0.1%	-0.4%	-0.3%	-0.3%
Retailers	0.4%	0.4%	-0.6%	0.6%	0.8%
Wholesalers	1.5%	-0.9%	-0.1%	-0.1%	0.2%
Inventory/Sales	1.39	1.40	1.40	1.40	1.40
Manufacturers	1.40	1.40	1.40	1.39	1.38
Retailers	1.43	1.45	1.45	1.44	1.45
Wholesalers	1.35	1.37	1.36	1.36	1.36