5/9/13, "Wholesale Inventories Rise in March as Sales Fall Sharply," AP, Martin Crutsinger, via DailyFinance.com
"Wholesale businesses stepped up their restocking of supplies in March, but their sales fell sharply.
The Commerce Department said Thursday that stockpiles held by wholesalers rose 0.4 percent in March compared with February, when they had fallen 0.3 percent. Sales in March dropped 1.6 percent, the biggest setback since March 2009, when the country was in recession. Sales had risen 1.5 percent in February.
Inventory rebuilding can be a positive for economic growth because it means stronger production at the nation's factories. The March increase left inventories at $503.1 billion, up 4.7 percent from a year ago and 30.7 percent above the recession low.
The government estimated last month that the overall economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the first quarter. That's up from a rate of 0.4 percent in the previous quarter....
The government will issue a second estimate for first-quarter growth on May 30 with more complete data.
Even with the gains, many economists expect growth has slowed slightly in the current April-June quarter to around 2 percent and is likely to stay around that reduced level for the rest of this year....
Spending at retail business fell in March by the largest amount in nine months."...via Zero Hedge (and charts)
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