Wholesale sales increased 1.4% in July over the prior month, even after a significant upward revision in June sales, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. The increase in June sales largely came from two types of nondurable goods, petroleum and pharmaceuticals.
Inventories of wholesalers increased only 0.1% in July compared to the prior month, instead of the 0.2% increase projected last month by the Census Bureau. Durable goods stocks declined 0.2% in July while inventories of nondurable goods rose 0.7%.
The inventory-to-sales ratio slipped to 1.28 in July from 1.29 in June and 1.34 in July 2024. “This implies that wholesalers did not overbuild inventories headed into the busy peak season, which could result in some additional inflation risk, aside from tariff risk, if stockouts occur,” says Alex Chausovsky, director of analytics and consulting for Bundy Group, an investment bank.
While the ratio was little changed for nondurables, including groceries, drugs and apparel, for durable goods the inventory-to-sales ratio in July was 1.64, down from 1.66 in June and 1.78 in July 2024.
The Census Bureau’s preliminary report last month estimated June wholesale sales grew by only 0.3% compared to May, but the agency this week changed that estimate to 0.7% growth. The main drivers of that increase were a 7.1% increase in the tally of drug sales over the earlier estimate and 8.3% for petroleum products. Durable goods sales were revised upwards only 0.25%.
Total wholesale sales were up 6.2% in July over the same month last year and 4.5% year to date. Most of the increase comes from sales of durable goods, up 8.6% from July 2024 and 6.6% for the first seven months of 2025 compared to the same period a year ago.
But growth has been weak in recent months in several categories, including some types of durable goods, Chausovsky says. “If you look at the month-to-month changes from May to June to July, it’s becoming quite evident that the product categories seeing declines in both sales and inventories are the ones most susceptible to tariffs, such as automotive, furniture, apparel, and farm products,” he says.
Wholesale inventories were up 1.3% in July 2025 compared to July 2024, with durable goods inventories down 0.1% year over year and nondurables up 3.6%.
In a separate report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported producer prices, the prices manufacturers charge wholesalers and distributors, unexpectedly declined 0.1% in August following a downwardly revised 0.7% in July.
