March Wholesaler Sales Down 2.9% YoY as Inventories Hold

Sales of merchant wholesalers in March — except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading day differences but not for price changes —  were $655.3 billion, down 2.1% from the revised February level and down 2.9% from the revised March 2022 level, according to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The January 2023 to February 2023 percent change was unrevised from the preliminary estimate of up 0.4%, bureau said.

Total March inventories of merchant wholesalers — except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading day differences, but not for price changes — were $918.5 billion at the end of March, virtually unchanged from the revised February level.

Total inventories were down 9.1% from the revised March 2022 level. The February 2023 to March 2023 percent change was revised from the advance estimate of up 0.1% to “virtually unchanged” (±0.2%).

The March inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers — except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices — based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.40. The March 2022 ratio was 1.25, the bureau said.