FX.co ★ US Wholesale Inventories Growth Slows

US wholesale inventories edged up 0.1% month-over-month to $941.8 billion in May 2026, following an upwardly revised 0.7% increase in April and falling short of market expectations for a 0.3% gain. This was the third straight month of decelerating inventory growth, after a 1.5% rise in March, the strongest pace since mid-2022. On a year-over-year basis, wholesale inventories were 4.0% higher, accelerating from an upwardly revised 1.2% increase in May 2025. Meanwhile, the inventories-to-sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, excluding manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, came in at 1.15 on a seasonally adjusted basis, down from 1.31 in May 2025.