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Friday, October 16, 2026

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Inventories · Friday, October 16, 2026

Business stockpiles rose 0.4 percent in August

The File desk · Oct 16, 2026, 11:00 AM UTC

Status

Confirmed from the Census Bureau release CB26-166, for 10:00 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. The figures are not adjusted for price changes.

  • Confirmed

    Manufacturers’ and trade inventories were $2,818.8 billion at the end of August, up 0.4 percent from July, plus or minus 0.1 percent, and up 4.6 percent from August 2025, plus or minus 0.4 percent.

  • Confirmed

    Sales were $2,123.5 billion, up 1.1 percent from July and 10.2 percent from a year earlier. The inventories-to-sales ratio was 1.33, compared with 1.40 a year earlier.

The Census Bureau said businesses held $2,818.8 billion of goods at the end of August, up 0.4 percent from July. Sales of those goods were $2,123.5 billion, up 1.1 percent. The ratio of stockpiles to sales was 1.33, down from 1.40 a year earlier. The figures are not adjusted for prices.

The release is CB26-166, for 10:00 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. It covers manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers together.

July inventories were revised to $2,807.1 billion, up 0.9 percent. August inventories were up 4.6 percent from August 2025, plus or minus 0.4 percent. August sales were up 10.2 percent from a year earlier, plus or minus 0.3 percent. The monthly sales change is plus or minus 0.1 percent.

A ratio of 1.33 means stockpiles equaled about one and a third months of sales, on the bureau’s seasonally adjusted measure. In August 2025 the ratio was 1.40.

The next release, for September, is scheduled for Nov. 17, 2026.

What is still unknown or disputed

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales, August 2026 (CB26-166)

    U.S. Census Bureau · October 15, 2026

    Manufacturers’ and trade inventories for August were $2,818.8 billion, up 0.4 percent (±0.1 percent) from July 2026 and up 4.6 percent (±0.4 percent) from August 2025. Sales were $2,123.5 billion, up 1.1 percent (±0.1 percent) from July and up 10.2 percent (±0.3 percent) from August 2025. The inventories-to-sales ratio was 1.33. The August 2025 ratio was 1.40.

    https://www.census.gov/mtis/www/data/pdf/mtis_current.pdf