US business inventories post biggest gain in nearly four years in March

WASHINGTON - U.S. business inventories increased by the most in nearly four years in March, boosted by stocks at wholesalers, government data showed on Thursday.

Inventories rose 0.9%, the largest gain since June 2022, after climbing 0.4% in February, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected inventories, a key component of GDP and one of the most volatile, to increase 0.8% in March.

Inventories advanced 2.0% year-on-year in March. The government estimated last month that business inventories added 0.40 percentage point to the 2.0% annualized rate of increase in the GDP in the first quarter. The economy grew at a 0.5% pace in the October-December quarter.

Retail inventories increased 0.6% in March after being unchanged in February. Wholesale inventories jumped 1.3% while stocks at manufacturers rose 0.6%.

Business sales increased 2.1% in March after rising 1.8% in the prior month. At March's sales pace, it would take 1.32 months for businesses to clear shelves, down from 1.33 months in February. The inventories/sales ratio was at 1.38 months in March 2025.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 10:33 AM.