US Wholesale Inventories Rise More than Expected

US wholesale inventories advanced by 1.4% month-over-month to $932.8 billion in March 2026, following an upwardly revised 0.9% increase in February and overshooting market forecasts for a 0.4% rise. This marked the second consecutive monthly increase in wholesale inventories and the strongest since June 2022, prompted by a surge in stocks of non-durable goods (3.2% vs 1% in February). On the other hand, durable goods inventory growth slowed to 0.3% from 0.9%. On a yearly basis, wholesale inventories rose 2.9% in March.

US wholesale inventories rose by 0.8% month-over-month to $919.6 billion in February 2026, the most since January 2025, after a downwardly revised 0.3% decrease in January. Data came in stronger than the anticipated 0.4% fall. Nondurable goods stocks rose by 1%, rebounding from a 1.1% decrease in the prior month, as sharp rises in farm products (6.2%) and petroleum (5.2%) more than offset modest declines in miscellaneous nondurables (-0.3%) and groceries (-0.2%). At the same time, inventories grew much faster for durable goods (0.8% vs 0.2%), mainly on account of miscellaneous durable goods (2.5% vs 1.1%), electrical (1.5% vs 1.6%), professional equipment (0.8% vs 1.1%), machinery (0.7% vs 0.1%) and hardware (0.6% vs -0.9%). On a yearly basis, wholesale inventories advanced 1.8% in February.

US wholesale inventories fell by 0.5% month-over-month to $909.3 billion in January 2026, the most since December 2024, after a downwardly revised 0.1% decrease in December and missing line expectations of a 0.2% increase. Inventories of non-durable goods fell 1.5%, following a 0.8% decrease in the previous month, while durable goods stocks remained unchanged, after a 0.2% increase in November. On a yearly basis, wholesale inventories grew 1% in January.