Why This Matters to Distributors: Wholesale demand accelerated in May while inventories remained unchanged, signaling distributors are selling through inventory faster than they are replenishing it. Strong sales across electrical, machinery and professional equipment markets suggest industrial demand remained resilient despite continued economic uncertainty.
U.S. wholesale sales rose sharply in May while inventory growth was flat, signaling distributors continued to move products at a faster pace than they replenished stock.
Seasonally adjusted sales at merchant wholesalers reached $817.4 billion in May, up 3.4% from April and 18.1% from May 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey released Wednesday.
Wholesale inventories totaled $941.8 billion at the end of May, up 0.1% from April. The Census Bureau noted the monthly increase was not statistically significant because it fell within the survey’s margin of error. Inventories were 4.0% higher than a year earlier.
The inventories-to-sales ratio fell to 1.15 in May from 1.31 a year earlier, indicating distributors turned inventory more quickly than they did in May 2025.
Sales growth was strongest among durable goods wholesalers, where revenue increased 4.2% from April and 18.7% year over year. Nondurable goods sales rose 2.6% from April and 17.4% from a year earlier.
Electrical products distributors led many industrial sectors. Sales at electrical wholesalers climbed 6.2% from April and 37.2% from a year earlier, while inventories increased 22.2% year over year. Professional equipment wholesalers posted a 4.5% monthly sales gain and an 18.8% annual increase. Machinery wholesalers reported sales growth of 4.9% from April and 12.2% from May 2025.
Metal distributors also reported solid results, with sales increasing 4.7% from April and 23.8% year over year. Computer equipment wholesalers posted one of the strongest monthly gains, with sales rising 7.3% from April and 25.7% from a year earlier.
Among nondurable goods distributors, petroleum wholesalers recorded the largest increase, with sales up 8.6% from April and 66.3% year over year. Farm products sales rose 5.9%, while drug wholesalers posted a 1.9% monthly increase. Grocery wholesaler sales edged down 0.4% from April but remained 3.3% above year-earlier levels.
The Census Bureau also revised April wholesale sales higher, reporting a 2.2% increase from March, compared with the previously reported 2.0% gain.
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