Consensus Outlook
Wholesale inventories are expected to rise 0.3 percent in November following a heavy build of 0.8 percent in October (revised from 0.7 percent in the advance reading). Growth in wholesale inventories is tracking at about the same pace as growth in wholesale sales. Note that this report has been delayed and will be released when the government reopens.
Definition
Wholesale inventories measure the monthly dollar value of inventories held by merchant wholesalers and are tracked to gauge inventory change in quarterly GDP. The advance report is released late in the month for the following month and is part of the Monthly Advance Economic Indicators report (which also includes data on retail inventories and international trade in goods). Final monthly data for wholesale inventories are released about two weeks later with the Wholesale Trade report which also includes initial monthly data on wholesale sales. Why Investors Care