Business inventories for January

  • Prior was +0.4% (no revision)
  • Sales +0.2% vs +2.1% prior
  • Inventory-to-sales ratio 1.35, unchanged vs prior

Retail inventories rose 0.8% in what could be a sign of optimism about better consumer spending. In year-over-year terms, inventories were up 4.0% in January.

One area that looks a bit saturated is autos. Inventories were up 2.4% in January and 9.5% y/y. That's about $19B more cars sitting on the lot.