U.S. Inventories Rise 0.2%; First Gain in 12 Months
A rise in inventories suggests renewed factory orders, which should increase demand for trucking.
Buttressing the positive news about inventories, the stock-to-sales ratio – which measures how long goods stay on the shelves -- fell to 1.38 months from December's 1.39 months.
In other economic news released Thursday, initial jobless claims dipped slightly last week, import prices fell during February and the nation saw its account trade deficit widen during the final quarter of 2001, various government reports showed.
Across the United States, the number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time dipped to 377,000 for the week ended March 8, the Labor Department said.
The four-week moving average, which takes the volatility out of the weekly figure, rose slightly to 374,750 from 373,750, Labor said.
The weekly initial claims figure was below 400,000 for the 10th consecutive week, the longest such stretch of sub-400,000 results since the current economic contraction began in March 2001, Labor reported.
In February, import prices edged down 0.1%, Labor also said. Lower prices for foreign goods sold in the United States might indicate continued weak demand for business equipment, Bloomberg said. Excluding oil, import prices fell 0.5%.
Also in foreign trade news, the Commerce Department reported that the current account deficit, a measure of international trade, widened to $98.8 billion during the final quarter of 2001. The figure was an increase of $300 million from the third quarter’s revised results.
The drop was attributed to a drop in travel to the United States and decreased service exports as the economies of some of the country’s largest trading partners slowed down, Bloomberg reported.
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