U.S. Wholesale Inventories Revised Lower in July

• S. wholesale inventories increased slightly less than initially thought in July, suggesting businesses were not rushing to rebuild inventory after stocks were depleted in the second quarter.
• Wholesale inventory edged up 0.1%, after rising by an upwardly revised 0.2% in June, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Wednesday, September 10, 2025. Economists had expected wholesale inventories to rise by 0.2%, unchanged from the flash estimate, compared to the 0.1% uptick originally reported for the previous month.
• Inventories, a key part of gross domestic product, gained 0.2% in June and further advanced 1.3% on a year-over-year basis in July. Wholesale stocks of motor vehicles dropped 1.6%, but stocks of apparel surged 1.9%, while those of prescription medication increased 1.8%. Grocery inventories increased 2.0%.
• Inventories decreased at a US$32.9Bn annualised rate in the second quarter, subtracting 3.29 percentage points (pps) from GDP. That was, however, more than offset by a record 4.95pp contribution from a smaller trade deficit.
• Sales at wholesalers jumped 1.4% in July after rising 0.7% in June. With sales increasing by much more than inventories, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers edged down to 1.28 in July from 1.29 in June. This implies that it would take wholesalers 1.28 months to clear shelves, down from 1.29 months.

(Sources: Reuters & NASDAQ)