US Wholesale Inventories Rise for Third Straight Month

US wholesale inventories rose 0.1% month-over-month to $941.8 billion in May 2026, following a 0.7% increase in April and below a 0.3% gain in the advance estimate. The latest reading marked the third consecutive month of slower inventory growth after a 1.5% increase in March, the strongest since mid-2022. Compared with a year earlier, wholesale inventories were 4.0% higher, accelerating from an upwardly revised 1.2% increase in May 2025. Meanwhile, the inventories-to-sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, excluding manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, stood at 1.15 on a seasonally adjusted basis, down from 1.31 in May 2025.

US wholesale inventories increased by 0.3% month-over-month to $943.9 billion in May 2026, following a 0.7% rise in April and above market forecasts for a 0.2% gain, advance data showed. This marked the fourth consecutive monthly increase in wholesale inventories, but the pace moderated from March, which saw the strongest growth since August 2022. Stocks of durable goods rose by 0.3%, after a 0.9% increase in April, while those of nondurables rose by 0.5%, after a 0.3% advance in the prior month. On a yearly basis, wholesale inventories rose by 4.3%.

US wholesale inventories rose 0.6% month-over-month to $940.3 billion in April 2026, following an upwardly revised 1.5% increase in March and slightly exceeding forecasts for a 0.5% gain. The increase marked the third consecutive monthly rise in wholesale stockpiles, although the pace slowed from March's increase, which was the strongest since August 2022. Compared with April 2025, total inventories were up 3.6%. The monthly increase for March was revised up from an initial estimate of 0.5% to 0.6%. Meanwhile, the inventory-to-sales ratio for merchant wholesalers stood at 1.19 in April, unchanged from the previous month.