Distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for August were estimated at $1.3 trillion, an increase of 0.3 percent from July 4.2 percent from August 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Manufacturers’ and trade inventories, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at $1.7 trillion, up 0.3 percent from July and up 3.1 percent from August 2012.
The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of August was 1.29.
The August 2012 ratio was 1.3.