Economy
November 7, 2018
Industry Inventory-to-Shipments Ratio Improves in First Three Quarters
Written by Peter Wright
The Census Bureau provides monthly data on total U.S. manufacturing inventories, shipments and new orders, as well as data for individual industries, including steel products. The Census Bureau data provides a useful reality check on data from steel industry trade groups such as the American Iron and Steel Institute and the Metals Service Center Institute.
Census Bureau shipments and inventories data, reported in millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted, show that steel shipments and inventories are increasing, but the inventory-to-shipment ratio is decreasing. New orders have exceeded shipments each month of 2018 through September.
