WASHINGTON — The value of business inventories rose 0.6% to another record level in September, as retail inventories jumped 0.9% to add to already announced inventory gains at the factory and wholesale levels, data released Wednesday morning by the Commerce Department showed.
The retail inventory increase was in large part due to a 1.9% jump in motor vehicle inventories, as sales had declined 1.2% that month.
The remaining retail inventories categories combined for a 0.4% increase in September, with increases in every retail inventory category. Retail sales were flat in the month, suggesting that much of the inventory build this month was unintentional.
Analysts in an MNI survey had expected total business inventories to rise 0.3% in September. Factory inventories and wholesale inventories were both already reported up 0.4% in the month.
Overall business inventories would have been up only 0.4% in September if the surge in retail motor vehicle inventories was excluded, an MNI calculation showed.
An MNI calculation of retail inventories not included in the published categories shows a flat reading in September after sharp gains in the previous two months.
Business sales were up 0.2% in September following a 0.3% gain in the previous month. Retail sales excluding food services were flat in September, as announced earlier Wednesday. Wholesale sales were already reported as up 0.6% in the month, while manufacturing shipments, which are equal to sales in this report, rose 0.1%.
Despite the large increase in business inventories and the smaller gain in sales in September, the inventory-to-sales ratio held steady at a very low 1.29 level for the fifth straight month, the same level as a year ago. The data suggest businesses remain cautious, keeping inventory overhang from getting too large relative to sales.
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