Wholesale metals trading in the US declined in November with metal sales falling 9.7pc to $14.2bn compared with $15.8bn in the year-ago period.
Inventories also declined by 4.8pc to $32.7bn compared to $34.3bn in the previous year. On a monthly basis, sales remained flat while inventory decreased by 1.3pc against October’s $33.1bn.
Automotive sales this past November totaled $40.6bn while automotive inventories totaled $ 70.3bn, both rising by 3pc and 4.9pc, respectively, compared with the same period in 2018. Automotive sales also rose from October’s total of $38.9bn even though inventories decreased by 1.1pc from $71.2bn reported in October.
US machinery sales in November declined slightly compared to last year, falling by 0.3pc to $39.8bn from $39.9bn in the prior year period. Inventory for machinery rose by 6.2pc to $110.9bn from $104bn in November 2018.
November 2019’s figures for machinery appear in line with the previous month’s sales and inventories of $39.7bn and $111.2bn, respectively.