A pileup of unsold goods at big-name retailers Target Corp. and Walmart Inc. stirred concerns about an economy at risk from an inventory overhang. But, for now, solid demand is helping soothe some of that anxiety.

U.S. inventories rose an annualized $343 billion in the last two quarters, the biggest back-to-back build in government data back to 1999. Yet stockpiles are less concerning when compared with the total value of sales.

For instance, while the inflation-adjusted retail inventory-sales ratio in March was the highest in a year, it's still well below the average over the last 10 years. And though the ratio for manufacturers has moved up, a closer examination shows that the value of unsold finished durable goods at the lowest level since 2013.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to Treasury & Risk, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited Treasury & Risk content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Thought leadership on regulatory changes, economic trends, corporate success stories, and tactical solutions for treasurers, CFOs, risk managers, controllers, and other finance professionals
  • Informative weekly newsletter featuring news, analysis, real-world case studies, and other critical content
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

News