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Wholesale Inventories Surge Most In 14 Months, Sales Plunge
The build in wholesale inventories was a remarkable four times expectations at +1.2%. This is the biggest surge (and largest beat) since December 2011. GDP-enhancing 'if we build it, they will buy' attitudes pervade but the sames data was desparately disappointing. Wholesale sales dropped 0.8% (against an expectation of a 0.1% rise) for the biggest drop in 3 months and one of the lowest since the crisis 'ended'. Wholesale inventory-to-sales ratio rose to its equal highest since mid 2009 - it seems a lot has been banked on the consumer's return as the inventory build was dominated by Computers, Lumber, and Drugs wheras the sales drop saw Farm Products and Petroleum biting.
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(If the government numbers are to be belived) some company has hired an army of part-time workers to build invetories that they can't afford to buy.
Shhhh! Dear Leader would not approve of your message.
Can someone please explain Gold and Silver price action today ? I'm baffled .....
http://audiodeluxe.com/sites/default/files/Gross-Beat1.jpg
Just a drop out - fade in. See orange line.
Fundamental of rising prices
Last year 2012 saw retailers and wholesalers draw down their inventories, because of fear and conserving cash.
Ocean freight rates continue to be below the required level to cover basic operating costs.
Effective as of April 1st, 2013 both OOCL and Maersk announced freight rate increases, for containers between $200.00 and $500.00 USD per TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit) depending on size and destination. This is a big cost hit for large entities such as WalMart. Thus an increase in inventory ahead of shipping cost increases.
This is a direct result of global central banks increasing liquidity (printing) thus eroding the currency purchasing power. Put another way, its devalued currency induced cost/push inflation.
Get ready to pay a lot more at Wally World!
"the inventory build was dominated by Computers, Lumber, and Drugs" equals
PC porn, wood and viagra or a typical SEC workday.
nah they hired because they know we're recovering and that consumers will soon rush to the stores ... or not
some company has hired an army of part-time workers...
Remember this?
ATLANTA, Oct. 10, 2012 — The Home Depot®, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, announced a new initiative today aimed at arming U.S. service men and women with the knowledge and resources they need to successfully transition into the civilian workforce.
The new program, dubbed Mission: Transition, is a concentrated effort by The Home Depot to assist the military community with job search strategies and tools for today’s challenging employment market.
“Members of the United States military are great assets to America’s workforce, yet the outstanding skills they possess can be difficult to translate during the application or interview process,” said Tim Crow, The Home Depot EVP – Human Resources. “Through Mission: Transition, we want to help service men and women highlight their unique skills to successfully pursue opportunities...”
Specifically, Mission: Transition will aid a service member’s job search through customized training events and career tools:
Civilian Career Workshops: On October 27, 2012, The Home Depot will conduct more than 100 half-day training sessions across the country to help members of the military with their job search in most any industry or with most any employer. These workshops, which will be held at select Home Depot stores across the country and other company facilities, will include coaching on resume optimization for civilian jobs, interview tips and more.
Online Military Skills Translator: The Home Depot’s new skills translator is designed to help translate and match an applicant’s unique military skills with positions that might offer the best fit...
I had to laugh at the comments on the official site where this cut and paste press release was found. Seems sniper / spotter and remote control drone support skills are a bit more difficult to incorporate into big box retail sales positions than first thought.
This certainly explains the poorly stocked shelves at Wal-Mart...........not.
<Low margin goods will be the first stuff not to be quickly re-stocked.>
@Cognitive Dissonance
I've been waiting for a Vizio remote to be re-stocked for 2 weeks now. The electronics manager says she keeps getting a message, "Out in the Wareshouse" which means "they ain't got it."
BTW, a PSA for my ZH brothers and sisters: Vizio has an excellent picture, but don't buy their products. Crap and they won't stand behind it. I know they had a reputation for Wal-Mart crap before, but this model had impressed me, so I took a chance and you can hold all of the "you must be an idiot" responses. On the good side, the black levels on my LED/LCD are much better than the Samsung and Sharp I was also considering.
On the good side, the black levels on my LED/LCD are much better than the Samsung and Sharp I was also considering.
Get a PLASMA and you will not buy an LED or a LCD.Vizio is bargain basement crap, and LG isn't mch better.
One of the best sets going for a bedroom, is the PN51-490D(if you want 3D,which works great also) Samsung, 720P looks as good 2-3" away as 1080p.
And the picture/colors/clarity and blacks are awesome.(just do not use in a room w/a lot of light,glare itus, but who watches TV during the day anyway.
Want the best Plasma, Panansonic VT 50 series.
(just do not use in a room w/a lot of light,glare itus, but who watches TV during the day anyway.
What you said and I have a Samsung plasma and really don't like the burn-in effect from the network logos.
720P looks as good 2-3" away as 1080p.
When you think about it, digital 480p (or DVD quality) was more than an adequate jump from the previous 480i standard and would have been much less costly. Aside from the interlacing, the biggest problem with the old standard was that 480 was rarely achieved. The engineer at yy local ABC affiliate said they were transmiting at 212i until they switched to digital HD about 6 months ago. The power required to broadcast 1080p versus 480i (or 480p or 720p) is a huge cost increase.
I have a Panasonic 50" viera and it's tough to beat the picture.
Buy 37 get 29 free!
BUT the UE Rate went to 7.7%,and we added 236,000 new JOBS in Feb.
McJobs <fixt>
So the wealth effect of the stock market didn't help the consumer? I'm shocked!
yeah damn consumers, we told you to get aboard the S&P steamboat ! stupid peasants would never listen
SOOOO this report is why the market came back down from the moon....... The Bernack could have held the market up if he wanted too.
Market acting very strange this morning........ I watch 5 min charts and have watched the same correlation The Bernack created since March 2009.
It's all the "Horse Meat"& "Ikea Poop Cake" pulled out of the supply chain.
@Yen Cross
Record corporate profits on layoffs and selling us the waste. When will they find human DNA in Chef Boyardee?
Probably already have.
Markets struggling today without any POMO's. Perhaps the shorts will go after it following a big run up in recent days.
Trying to build a short position here is really problematic. You know that you are going against the Fed's printing press and Ben loves nothing better than to get some free Dow points by running stops. On the other hand when it becomes obvious that this thing has turned to shit it's my belief that the window of opportunity to get short will be closed quickly by regulation, at least for all but the TBTF/TPTB. The free market is obviously dead so why wouldn't the short side be buried with it?
I'd like to know where it's at. Whenever I go out shopping there are very few people and the shelves are never full. Maybe they keep it in the back....or on trucks.
parking lots have very few cars....acres of empty spaces with no one to buy...then again if they're not restocking then there's nothing to buy...
Honey Bager Market is just shaking it's head.
The number of people on food stamps is at an all time high, just like the DOW. The hard reality of finding your next meal has NOTHING to do with the fantasy that is today's stock market.
Ummm, China's huge export surprise have any connection?
Perfect... We can export this stuff to all of those empty cities the Chinese have built... that should really get things going. If I can just find some dumb sucker to dump my bullion on I can get right back into the market. And all that lumber ought to lead to a real boom in paper... Now, where did I put my presription drugs?
It looks like the tracking is now bass ackward and the $85 b of QE is generating less positive effect. As foretold by the Austrians.
Fed Announces Lottery Backed Securities Purchases
Not for nothing, but how many of the "business leaders" fell prey to Bernanke's propaganda about the "recovery"?
Another unintended consequence. Great. Way to go, Ben....spread the pain far and wide as the curtain is pulled away and you are revealed as the idiot you are.....
That's a really good point. If you are too busy running your business to read ZH you just take the "recovery" numbers at face value. "Things are turning around, we better stock up!" Next up a plan to buy excess inventory from TBTF retailers. We couldn't let Best Buy fail it would be bad for the economy.
surge, plunge - the bread and butter of financial reporting
Since I work in the supply to mega fuck retail sector, I can tell you exactly what happened.
The end of February beginning of March is the summer season kick off. Bathing suits, patio equipment, grills, etc. All of this stuff was bought 6-9 months prior. Planning for the summer seasonal section at Target actually started last year at this time. A lot can happen in the retail space over the period of a year. If you placed an order for 1000 patio sets last June for March 2013 delivery, and current sales plummet leaving you with no space in the store, there isn't much you can do about it when 1000 patio sets arrive at your DC.
There is no demand at the store level, so shipped inventory is next to nothing. Where you would normally see a dozen giant boxes filled with patio furniture, you might see one. The display models are all there, if you want one you will be told that the product is not at the store but it will be shipped and you can pick it up in a week.
There is still a massive amount of holiday inventory sitting around on clearance shelves. A lot of it was boxed up and sent back to the vendors, but they can't do anything with it. Maybe they save it for holiday 2013. Retail shelves are being stocked with the lowest level of inventory possible to make it look like the store is filled. Other inventory is being moved around to fill spaces where customers normally walk. If you go to less traveled areas, there is almost nothing there.
There is three months to sell all the summer inventory before it must be clearanced out to make room for the back to school stuff. How much do you think is going to sell if it isn't even in the store to begin with?
This is certainly consistent with a growing labor market! lol!
No shit! Here's an example, this week went into Sears to buy some Carhartt carpenter jeans, no one else in the store but 6 sales clearks descended upon me 'May I help you!' until I had to just grab the pants and run to the cashier, who then asked me to sign up for 'rewards cards' and 'email address' and 'Sears credit card'....WTF LEAVE ME ALONE!!
Ah yes Carhartt, another once upon a time we were Made in U.S.A. story. Now I justify the cost by saying that at least Made in Mexico is better than PROC. Sad how our expectations slowly erode.
Yea I just look to buy them on sale basically because they're a bit less crappier than others.
I don't see how any retailers made a dime at xmas. I go in Belks and I take my purchase to the cashier and she says if I sign up for a Belk card I would get another 15% off the already 50% off, I did and before I could blink she had an approval. I didn't actually use the card to make the purchase, I canceled it later.
Then at another Big store the sales clerk said I could have the item for free if I signed up for their mastercard.
I didn't see a lot of sales clerks anywhere and this was xmas at the mallz.
Kicking the dead horse down the road.
'Duality' is the name of the game...always has been....good news/bad news keeps everyones head spinning.
Go to the ammo counter and tell me what you see.
Demand is red hot and prices are quadrupled in many cases.
No ammo, anywhere, not even on the internet. Although I did buy out China*Marts last 12 guage birdshot shells just to make them into slugs I'll reload them evenings.
Plenty at luckygunnerdotcom, except 22LR....
I call Bullshit on that one. Not only is there no .22LR, the 9mm is all gone and the .357 & .38 are double what I paid six months ago.
I'm counting myself lucky to have gotten the LAST box of .22LR at Dick's two weeks ago. They tell me that they won't have any new inventory for weeks.
I started stocking up a long time ago, this is another facet of the slip in time-space I have experienced.
Wonderful. Eventually they'll have to move this shit off the shelves, and then I can pick up that Margaritaville drink dispenser on the cheap that I so desperately require.
Seriously, those Jimmy Buffet MFs are so overpriced and they never go on sale! If I ever see them discounted somewhere I will go straight home and then and only then start shorting the ES again. That is the signal that will tell us a top has been put in.
The only things selling well now are guns(look at RGR and SWHC recent earnings reports), ammo, booze(watered down) and lottery scratch off tickets. There might be a surge in dusters to clean off the idle inventory.
Japanese car manufacturers hope to sell one this year. Somewhere. Pigeons having difficulty finding space to act pigeon in at the car lots in SoCal.
Shoot yer Gun Shoot yer Gun - got git some ammo and.... Shoot yer Gun
Shoot yer Gun Shoot yer Gun - got git some ammo and.... Shoot yer Gun
Shoot yer Gun Shoot yer Gun - got git some ammo and.... Shoot yer Gun
Shoot yer Gun Shoot yer Gun - got git some ammo and.... Shoot yer Gun