The sale of metals decreased 12.7pc in October to $14.19bn from $16.28bn during the same period in 2018, according to the latest Census Bureau data on wholesale trade and inventories.
Metal sales in October fell 1.6pc from $14.4bn during the same time in the prior month.
Metal inventories also decreased in October to $33.3bn, down 1.9pc from the prior year period and 0.4pc from September 2019.
Conversely, automotive sales rose 2.3pc from approximately $39bn in October 2018 to $39.9bn in October 2019. Automotive inventories also increased 7.2pc to $71.2bn from $66.4bn during the same period last year.
However, automotive sales increased 2.3pc from approximately $39bn in October 2018 to $39.9bn in October 2019. Automotive inventories also rose 7.2pc to $71.2bn from $66.4bn during the same period last year. Though sales grew 0.6pc from September 2019’s $39.7bn, inventories during the same period declined for the second consecutive month, declining 0.4pc from $71.5bn in September 2019.
Wholesale sales of machinery declined 1.7pc to $39.7bn from $40.5bn in October 2018. However, machinery inventories rose steadily, increasing 7.4pc in October 2019 to $11.6bn from $111.5bn in September.
Metals, machinery, and automotive are included in the durable goods wholesale trade data released by the US Census Bureau every month. In October, the total sale of durable goods fell 1.9pc to $237.5bn from $242.2bn during the same period last year.