Retail And Wholesale Inventories Rise

Retail inventories rose 0.4 percent in July and were led by a 1.0 percent rise in vehicle inventories. This result together with a 0.7 percent build in wholesale inventories (also released this morning) point to a very fast start for third-quarter inventories which were very negative in the second quarter, pulling down the quarter's GDP growth by 1.0 percentage point. Given that inventories were very lean going into the quarter, today's news is not only positive for GDP but also for production and employment as businesses, meeting strong demand, restock warehouses and shelves.

...meanwhile...

Wholesale inventories spiked 0.7 percent in July and were led solidly by a 0.9 percent rise in durable goods. This result together with a 0.4 percent build in retail inventories (also released this morning) point to a very fast start for third-quarter inventories which were very negative in the second quarter, pulling down the quarter's growth by 1.0 percentage point. Given that inventories were very lean going into the quarter, today's news is not only positive for GDP but also for production and employment as businesses, meeting strong demand, restock warehouses and shelves.