Business Inventories Rise in November

Business inventories rose 0.3% in November while sales increased, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The stockpiles gain followed a 0.8% gain in October.

Sales also rose 0.3%.

The November inventories increase was lower than economists’ projections of a 0.4% rise, Bloomberg reported.

Factory inventories, which make up about two-fifths of the total, rose 0.5%, while wholesale inventories, which make up about 30%, edged up 0.1%.

When sales are growing, it usually means trucking is seeing additional demand to deliver goods and restock shelves.