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Trade · November 9, 2026 · 2 min read

U.S. September wholesale inventories rise 0.7% in revised Census estimate

By Econ Data Tools Editorial Team

Published November 9, 2026 • Updated November 9, 2026

Census reports $1,013.1 billion in seasonally adjusted wholesale inventories and $840.1 billion in sales. The inventory gain was revised from the 0.6% advance estimate; these dollar measures are not adjusted for prices.

U.S. merchant wholesalers held $1,013.1 billion of inventories at the end of September 2026, up 0.7% from the revised August level, the Census Bureau reported on November 9. That replaces the earlier advance estimate of a 0.6% monthly increase. The figures cover merchant wholesalers excluding manufacturers' sales branches and offices and are adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences, but not for price changes. The inventory increase was 7.6% compared with the revised September 2025 level. Census reported 90% confidence intervals of plus or minus 0.2 percentage points for the monthly inventory change and plus or minus 1.1 percentage points for the annual change. Revised August inventories were $1,006.2 billion, with a 0.6% monthly increase. The uncertainty ranges describe sampling uncertainty; estimates can also be revised as more information becomes available. September wholesale sales were $840.1 billion, up 2.8% from revised August and 19.8% from revised September 2025. The reported 90% confidence intervals were plus or minus 0.4 percentage points for the monthly sales change and plus or minus 0.7 percentage points for the annual change. Census revised the July-to-August sales increase from 1.8% in the annual revision report to 2.0%. Sales and inventories are separate dollar-value measures, not inflation-adjusted output. Durable-goods inventories rose 0.6% on the month to about $630.0 billion, while nondurable-goods inventories rose 0.9% to about $383.1 billion. The aggregate increase concealed differences across industries: automotive inventories fell 0.5%, machinery inventories fell 0.2%, and petroleum inventories rose 10.6%. These category changes are not proof of businesses' purchasing motives or of the strength of final consumer demand. The seasonally adjusted inventories-to-sales ratio was 1.21 in September, compared with 1.34 a year earlier. This compares the stock of inventory with a month's sales flow. A lower ratio does not by itself prove that supply chains are healthier, financing is easier or shortages have ended. Changes in prices and in the composition of sales can affect dollar-based measures, so a rise in nominal stocks should not be described as the same increase in physical goods. The release follows an October 26 revision of wholesale sales, inventories and ratios using the 2023 and 2024 Annual Integrated Economic Survey estimates. Comparisons should therefore use the revised series consistently. The wholesale report alone does not quantify the inventory contribution to real GDP or establish a monetary-policy response. Census schedules its October wholesale report for December 9, 2026.

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