What does the US wholesale inventories by industry table measure?

It measures the total monetary value of goods held in inventory by merchant wholesalers in the United States, along with the inventory-to-sales ratio, across durable and nondurable goods categories.

Which industry breakdowns are available in the table?

It includes major categories such as durable goods, nondurable goods, motor vehicles, professional equipment, metals, electrical goods, groceries, chemicals, and petroleum products.

How should the inventory-to-sales ratio be interpreted?

The ratio measures how many months current inventory represents at the current sales pace, with rapid increases typically signaling weaker-than-expected sales and potential production cuts in the United States.

US Wholesale Inventories by Industry

Name: US Wholesale Inventories by Industry
Creator: Census Bureau (Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey)
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

US monthly wholesale inventories and inventory-to-sales ratios by industry from the Census Bureau.

Source: Census Bureau (Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey)Last updated: Sep 21, 2026, 14:56Curated by Bui Thanh PhucAbout this data ↓

Indicator	07-2026	06-2026	05-2026	04-2026	03-2026	02-2026	01-2026	12-2025	11-2025	10-2025	09-2025	08-2025	07-2025	06-2025	05-2025	04-2025	03-2025	02-2025	01-2025	12-2024	11-2024	10-2024	09-2024	08-2024	07-2024	06-2024	05-2024	04-2024	03-2024	02-2024	01-2024	12-2023	11-2023	10-2023	09-2023	08-2023	07-2023
Inventories1
Total merchant wholesalers2	958,854	946,687	943,113	940,672	934,572	920,443	911,902	914,350	915,713	913,477	911,532	907,383	908,006	906,639	905,131	907,978	906,371	903,141	900,015	891,703	898,579	898,061	895,719	898,441	896,740	894,462	893,110	888,010	887,937	892,709	889,437	895,920	890,388	892,844	897,170	896,031	897,870
Durable goods9	597,175	590,864	586,124	585,116	580,027	576,888	571,972	570,644	569,376	567,696	568,291	567,861	568,267	568,397	567,257	571,515	570,903	567,051	565,830	560,939	565,558	567,674	566,447	569,928	568,421	567,773	568,060	565,180	563,260	564,643	559,700	560,371	555,399	556,500	556,896	555,988	556,226
Motor vehicles and parts	90,458	90,228	89,561	89,285	88,915	88,937	88,652	89,171	88,715	88,734	90,020	90,243	89,915	91,024	92,028	93,000	92,619	91,811	91,492	91,958	93,104	94,883	95,312	97,682	97,192	95,810	94,577	93,599	92,382	92,742	92,101	91,028	88,180	89,532	89,487	88,577	86,730
Furniture and home furnishings	16,869	17,034	16,985	16,895	16,752	17,015	16,960	16,687	16,424	16,987	17,321	17,312	17,439	17,466	17,519	17,912	18,102	17,583	17,620	17,529	17,499	17,388	16,959	16,773	16,710	16,711	16,770	16,888	16,934	16,876	16,777	16,786	17,039	17,104	17,285	17,596	17,831
Lumber and other Building materials	30,790	30,806	30,711	30,609	30,339	30,564	30,531	30,853	30,880	31,120	31,386	31,470	31,435	31,266	31,656	31,482	31,920	32,176	31,544	31,117	31,257	30,982	30,730	30,651	30,623	30,668	30,749	30,537	30,537	30,398	30,149	29,818	29,528	29,887	30,046	29,787	29,776
Professional and commercial equipment1	69,064	67,229	66,768	66,237	65,338	64,853	64,296	63,574	63,547	63,231	63,790	63,861	64,839	63,968	63,890	65,278	64,016	63,903	63,179	61,315	62,272	62,200	59,954	61,372	60,604	59,867	61,175	60,321	60,455	60,744	60,384	60,511	59,650	59,598	59,966	59,938	59,927
Computer and peripheral equipment and software	28,437	26,857	26,105	25,049	24,680	23,818	23,509	23,387	23,508	23,207	24,693	23,917	24,772	24,305	24,227	25,275	24,560	24,537	23,945	22,475	22,407	22,439	21,177	21,645	21,162	20,873	21,477	21,113	20,816	20,609	20,618	20,471	20,008	20,016	20,069	19,859	19,985
Metals and minerals	40,112	39,447	38,500	39,482	39,740	39,480	39,662	40,151	40,030	40,154	40,272	39,740	39,178	39,220	38,777	38,861	38,818	38,734	38,875	38,162	37,946	37,993	37,910	38,066	38,444	38,914	39,600	39,926	40,273	40,971	40,922	41,466	41,978	42,361	42,339	43,079	43,824
Electrical goods	100,128	97,912	96,989	96,780	94,013	90,903	88,773	87,358	87,272	85,877	84,264	82,279	81,607	81,848	79,510	79,265	79,492	80,010	79,804	78,525	80,149	80,397	81,150	81,300	81,731	81,317	81,884	82,066	82,128	82,178	82,238	83,592	83,193	83,730	83,829	84,678	86,246
Hardware, plumbing and heating equipment	47,550	47,371	46,613	46,133	45,984	45,484	45,178	45,573	45,476	45,915	46,145	46,415	46,526	46,415	46,585	46,009	45,318	44,672	44,167	43,947	43,979	43,663	43,811	43,438	43,030	43,124	43,181	43,326	43,047	43,461	43,457	43,436	43,683	44,086	44,413	44,878	44,951
Machinery, equipment and supplies	159,301	158,300	157,083	156,778	156,503	156,440	155,664	155,478	156,033	155,404	154,518	154,715	155,220	154,507	154,552	155,758	157,269	155,924	157,010	155,946	156,657	157,389	157,689	157,676	157,215	158,100	157,515	156,435	154,750	154,083	150,720	150,600	148,211	146,270	145,348	142,909	141,743
Other durable goods	42,903	42,537	42,914	42,917	42,443	43,212	42,256	41,799	40,999	40,274	40,575	41,826	42,108	42,683	42,740	43,950	43,349	42,238	42,139	42,440	42,695	42,779	42,932	42,970	42,872	43,262	42,609	42,082	42,754	43,190	42,952	43,134	43,937	43,932	44,183	44,546	45,198
Nondurable goods9	361,679	355,823	356,989	355,556	354,545	343,555	339,930	343,706	346,337	345,781	343,241	339,522	339,739	338,242	337,874	336,463	335,468	336,090	334,185	330,764	333,021	330,387	329,272	328,513	328,319	326,689	325,050	322,830	324,677	328,066	329,737	335,549	334,989	336,344	340,274	340,043	341,644
Paper and paper products	8,355	8,225	8,186	8,067	7,931	7,864	7,775	7,785	7,856	8,110	8,117	8,062	8,170	8,176	8,244	8,248	8,325	8,275	8,123	8,161	8,031	7,977	7,922	7,887	7,792	7,844	7,769	7,831	7,865	7,957	8,024	8,187	8,113	8,131	8,182	8,375	8,404
Drugs	101,744	100,127	99,852	98,830	99,463	99,615	99,191	102,257	102,820	101,686	99,449	97,414	99,001	98,254	97,624	96,627	94,228	94,222	93,268	92,238	95,876	93,783	92,739	94,541	94,744	92,497	92,406	89,882	90,436	91,987	91,413	91,350	88,799	87,818	88,448	87,290	87,753
Apparel, piece goods and notions	28,228	28,138	28,501	28,493	28,998	28,982	28,781	28,594	28,342	28,158	28,252	28,493	28,418	27,730	28,434	28,406	28,002	28,091	28,128	27,916	28,380	28,231	28,110	28,575	28,524	28,771	28,847	28,980	29,735	30,084	29,844	30,882	31,032	31,857	32,350	33,158	34,151
Groceries and related products	59,843	59,983	59,092	58,895	57,839	57,067	57,096	57,390	58,611	58,632	58,609	58,200	57,856	56,537	56,298	56,158	55,611	55,317	54,710	54,029	54,462	53,297	52,520	51,015	51,026	51,218	50,715	50,459	51,067	51,626	51,772	51,921	51,666	52,481	52,801	52,319	52,394
Farm product raw materials	28,554	27,484	27,503	26,995	26,796	26,053	24,483	25,003	25,666	25,647	25,231	24,155	23,923	24,632	25,134	26,062	26,593	27,497	27,679	26,638	26,044	27,213	27,830	25,977	23,815	24,255	24,143	23,279	24,512	25,391	26,906	28,916	30,344	30,607	30,546	31,229	31,642
Chemicals and allied products	15,448	15,393	15,193	14,868	14,850	14,246	14,199	14,295	14,253	14,440	14,413	14,381	14,605	14,618	14,338	14,628	14,812	14,538	14,521	14,579	14,678	14,713	14,778	14,639	14,625	14,755	14,608	14,512	14,536	14,534	14,343	14,787	14,852	15,386	15,541	15,726	16,118
Petroleum and petroleum products	35,998	33,806	35,653	36,507	35,569	26,542	25,168	24,390	25,376	25,550	25,484	25,214	23,748	25,070	23,823	22,926	25,170	25,084	25,037	25,481	23,383	23,805	24,619	25,291	25,760	26,277	26,018	27,661	25,610	24,819	25,743	26,199	28,462	28,700	29,691	29,005	28,452
Alcoholic beverages	24,673	24,520	24,910	24,662	24,586	24,582	24,403	25,278	25,615	25,613	25,673	25,733	25,875	25,859	26,209	25,754	25,781	25,683	25,289	25,139	25,192	24,900	24,993	25,021	24,896	24,877	24,809	24,711	24,836	25,421	24,793	24,580	24,411	24,661	24,951	24,948	25,103
Other nondurable goods	58,836	58,147	58,099	58,239	58,513	58,604	58,834	58,714	57,798	57,945	58,013	57,870	58,143	57,366	57,770	57,654	56,946	57,383	57,430	56,583	56,975	56,468	55,761	55,567	57,137	56,195	55,735	55,515	56,080	56,247	56,899	58,727	57,310	56,703	57,764	57,993	57,627
Inventories-to-sales ratio1
Total merchant wholesalers2	1.2	1.19	1.15	1.19	1.21	1.23	1.25	1.26	1.28	1.3	1.29	1.28	1.28	1.3	1.31	1.3	1.3	1.31	1.33	1.3	1.32	1.33	1.33	1.34	1.34	1.35	1.34	1.34	1.35	1.34	1.35	1.35	1.34	1.34	1.33	1.36	1.38
Durable goods9	1.48	1.48	1.46	1.52	1.53	1.53	1.58	1.61	1.64	1.66	1.65	1.64	1.64	1.67	1.68	1.69	1.69	1.7	1.76	1.69	1.7	1.74	1.73	1.76	1.78	1.79	1.8	1.8	1.81	1.79	1.79	1.79	1.79	1.78	1.79	1.8	1.8
Motor vehicles and parts	1.67	1.65	1.64	1.65	1.66	1.68	1.71	1.77	1.68	1.68	1.69	1.71	1.7	1.69	1.7	1.77	1.76	1.73	1.77	1.77	1.71	1.78	1.79	1.84	1.85	1.85	1.83	1.78	1.76	1.74	1.75	1.78	1.69	1.77	1.72	1.76	1.75
Furniture and home furnishings	1.59	1.57	1.59	1.69	1.68	1.77	1.87	1.8	1.79	1.89	1.89	1.96	2.02	2.07	2.04	2.03	2.12	2.03	1.99	1.99	1.95	2	1.99	1.9	1.86	1.9	1.98	1.95	1.97	1.93	1.87	1.84	1.95	1.95	1.91	1.93	1.98
Lumber and other Building materials	1.67	1.67	1.68	1.7	1.66	1.71	1.75	1.77	1.78	1.79	1.76	1.76	1.76	1.8	1.81	1.74	1.77	1.8	1.82	1.73	1.72	1.76	1.74	1.73	1.74	1.73	1.77	1.74	1.72	1.7	1.8	1.65	1.65	1.65	1.64	1.65	1.64
Professional and commercial equipment1	1.05	1.04	1.03	1.07	1.07	1.05	1.08	1.09	1.13	1.15	1.15	1.13	1.14	1.16	1.17	1.19	1.18	1.19	1.23	1.17	1.18	1.2	1.11	1.18	1.17	1.16	1.2	1.19	1.23	1.23	1.22	1.25	1.21	1.23	1.26	1.2	1.23
Computer and peripheral equipment and software	0.8	0.8	0.75	0.77	0.78	0.73	0.75	0.8	0.84	0.86	0.91	0.83	0.83	0.86	0.87	0.9	0.88	0.91	0.93	0.85	0.86	0.9	0.81	0.83	0.83	0.83	0.87	0.87	0.89	0.87	0.89	0.91	0.84	0.86	0.88	0.82	0.86
Metals and minerals	1.72	1.78	1.74	1.87	1.98	1.92	2.08	2.1	2.1	2.11	2.14	2.19	2.13	2.18	2.18	2.2	2.13	2.2	2.26	2.23	2.2	2.26	2.2	2.26	2.23	2.25	2.22	2.2	2.28	2.2	2.17	2.13	2.23	2.22	2.22	2.22	2.28
Electrical goods	0.9	0.88	0.86	0.92	0.93	0.89	0.94	0.97	1.01	1.02	1.01	0.96	0.95	0.99	0.97	0.98	0.97	1.01	1.03	0.96	1.03	1.04	1.07	1.08	1.12	1.12	1.14	1.19	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.26	1.27	1.22	1.24	1.3	1.3
Hardware, plumbing and heating equipment	2.06	2.08	2.06	2.02	2	2	2.08	2.12	2.13	2.16	2.11	2.11	2.09	2.15	2.2	2.16	2.16	2.11	2.09	2.05	2.08	2.13	2.13	2.12	2.11	2.1	2.14	2.19	2.18	2.22	2.26	2.26	2.28	2.24	2.26	2.33	2.35
Machinery, equipment and supplies	2.66	2.7	2.62	2.74	2.75	2.79	2.83	2.79	2.98	3.03	2.9	2.84	2.88	2.87	2.89	2.87	2.94	2.94	3.13	2.94	2.89	2.99	3	3.02	3.04	3.1	3.07	3.07	2.99	2.99	2.93	2.9	2.89	2.85	2.81	2.76	2.72
Other durable goods	1.2	1.21	1.24	1.29	1.23	1.29	1.25	1.26	1.28	1.27	1.3	1.37	1.39	1.45	1.52	1.52	1.51	1.5	1.53	1.53	1.54	1.56	1.58	1.61	1.6	1.62	1.61	1.6	1.59	1.57	1.58	1.51	1.61	1.61	1.65	1.66	1.68
Nondurable goods9	0.91	0.9	0.85	0.87	0.9	0.92	0.92	0.93	0.94	0.95	0.95	0.94	0.94	0.95	0.95	0.94	0.93	0.94	0.94	0.93	0.96	0.95	0.94	0.95	0.94	0.95	0.93	0.93	0.94	0.93	0.96	0.95	0.95	0.95	0.94	0.97	1
Paper and paper products	1.06	1.02	1.02	0.99	0.99	0.99	0.97	1.01	1.01	1.05	1.05	1.03	1.02	1.06	1.05	1.04	1.06	1.04	1.04	1.05	1.02	1.02	1.01	1.01	1.01	1.01	0.99	1	1	1.01	1.03	1.03	1.02	1.03	1.03	1.07	1.06
Drugs	0.94	0.93	0.93	0.93	0.94	0.94	0.95	0.95	0.96	0.96	0.94	0.94	0.95	0.96	0.96	0.95	0.92	0.96	0.96	0.95	1.01	1	0.98	1.01	1.02	1.01	1.01	1	1.02	1.04	1.04	1.02	1	0.99	1.02	0.99	1.03
Apparel, piece goods and notions	1.98	1.97	2.09	2.07	2.13	2.08	2.15	2.01	1.92	2.03	2.03	2.16	2.05	1.98	2.02	2.06	2.06	2.06	2.03	2.01	2.13	2.1	2.05	2.12	2.13	2.23	2.23	2.21	2.28	2.32	2.34	2.5	2.48	2.46	2.47	2.59	2.68
Groceries and related products	0.73	0.73	0.72	0.72	0.71	0.71	0.71	0.72	0.74	0.73	0.73	0.72	0.73	0.72	0.71	0.72	0.72	0.71	0.71	0.69	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.68	0.68	0.69	0.68	0.69	0.69	0.7	0.71	0.71	0.72	0.72	0.72	0.71	0.72
Farm product raw materials	1.14	1.13	1.16	1.2	1.22	1.18	1.07	1.18	1.24	1.27	1.23	1.15	1.12	1.16	1.17	1.2	1.24	1.35	1.33	1.24	1.22	1.28	1.31	1.29	1.19	1.22	1.19	1.11	1.17	1.05	1.25	1.31	1.36	1.33	1.27	1.39	1.42
Chemicals and allied products	1.01	1.03	1.04	1.02	1.06	1.03	1.05	1.05	1.07	1.11	1.09	1.07	1.11	1.13	1.09	1.14	1.15	1.13	1.15	1.13	1.2	1.18	1.17	1.17	1.15	1.15	1.14	1.11	1.1	1.12	1.09	1.12	1.11	1.2	1.18	1.18	1.23
Petroleum and petroleum products	0.36	0.35	0.3	0.34	0.36	0.33	0.32	0.32	0.33	0.35	0.35	0.34	0.32	0.35	0.34	0.31	0.33	0.31	0.31	0.33	0.32	0.31	0.32	0.32	0.32	0.33	0.31	0.33	0.31	0.29	0.31	0.3	0.32	0.32	0.31	0.33	0.36
Alcoholic beverages	1.66	1.62	1.62	1.57	1.6	1.59	1.56	1.63	1.66	1.68	1.65	1.67	1.68	1.67	1.71	1.69	1.66	1.68	1.66	1.67	1.66	1.63	1.65	1.62	1.61	1.59	1.6	1.6	1.57	1.62	1.63	1.56	1.5	1.57	1.57	1.61	1.64
Other nondurable goods	1.88	1.83	1.77	1.7	1.69	1.7	1.76	1.8	1.78	1.79	1.81	1.8	1.82	1.8	1.81	1.72	1.76	1.83	1.87	1.86	1.88	1.84	1.84	1.82	1.83	1.84	1.82	1.84	1.8	1.79	1.92	1.83	1.85	1.8	1.8	1.83	1.85

Latest reading

Total merchant wholesalers stood at 958,854 USD million in Jul 2026. That is +1.3% from Jun 2026 and +5.6% from a year earlier. The series on this page is monthly and runs from Jan 1992 to Jul 2026. Source: Census Bureau (Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey).

Latest: 958,854 USD million; Jul 2026
vs previous period: +1.3%; Jun 2026
vs a year earlier: +5.6%

About this data

US monthly wholesale inventories and inventory-to-sales ratios by industry from the Census Bureau. The table provides seasonally adjusted figures for total merchant wholesalers, durable goods, and nondurable goods in USD million and ratios, starting from January 1992. Published monthly by the Census Bureau through the Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey, it tracks how many months of sales current inventory represents.

Frequently asked questions

What does the US wholesale inventories by industry table measure?: It measures the total monetary value of goods held in inventory by merchant wholesalers in the United States, along with the inventory-to-sales ratio, across durable and nondurable goods categories.
How often is the data published and how far back does it go?: The data is published monthly by the Census Bureau through the Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey, with time series beginning in January 1992.
Which industry breakdowns are available in the table?: It includes major categories such as durable goods, nondurable goods, motor vehicles, professional equipment, metals, electrical goods, groceries, chemicals, and petroleum products.
How should the inventory-to-sales ratio be interpreted?: The ratio measures how many months current inventory represents at the current sales pace, with rapid increases typically signaling weaker-than-expected sales and potential production cuts in the United States.