According to a recent Sea-Intelligence report, US inventories have remained stable with a growing tendency for wholesale and retailers.
Sea-Intelligence reviewed data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to see whether Northern American material imports were being reflected as an inventory reduction in the US.
The examination found that for three categories – manufacturing, retail, and wholesale – the relative size of inventories is on an increasing trend for wholesale and retailers, while showing stagnation for manufacturing.
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Sales data presented by Sea-Intelligence conveys a consistent 5 per cent fall in wholesale from a peak in June 2022, while retail sales remain stable with no evidence of a declining trend.
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Alan Murphy, CEO, Sea-Intelligence, stated: “The data can be seen to support the notion that retailers maintain steady sales, and hence a lack on their part in reducing inventories is not a major problem.
“Conversely, the wholesalers see declining sales and increasing inventory-to-sales ratios. If this is combined with a gradual shift back towards retailers, this is an indication that the wholesalers might be sitting on inventory they cannot get rid of.”
