Economic Indicators

Monthly Wholesale Trade: Sales and Inventories   CHART  RSS Feed

July 2012 sales of merchant wholesalers were $402.4 billion, down 0.1 percent (+/-0.4%)* from last month. End-of-month inventories were $485.2 billion, up 0.7 percent (+/-0.4%) from last month.

U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services   CHART  RSS Feed

The Nation’s international trade balance in goods and services worsened to -$42.0 billion in July from -$41.9 billion in June (revised), as exports decreased more than imports.

Quarterly Financial Report - Manufacturing, Mining, Wholesale Trade, and Selected Service Industries   CHART  RSS Feed

Manufacturing corporations' seasonally adjusted after-tax profits were $149.0 billion for the second quarter of 2012, up $0.7 (+/- 0.4) billion from first quarter of 2012.

Quarterly Services Survey   CHART  RSS Feed

U.S. information sector revenue for the second calendar quarter of 2012, adjusted for seasonal variation but not for price changes, was $295.1 billion, an increase of 0.8 percent (+/- 0.4) from the first quarter of 2012.

Construction Spending   CHART  RSS Feed

Total construction activity for July 2012 ($834.4 billion) was 0.9 percent (+/-1.8%)* below the revised June 2012 ($842.2 billion).

Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders   CHART  RSS Feed

New orders for manufactured goods in July increased $12.9 billion or 2.8 percent to $478.6 billion.

Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders   CHART  RSS Feed

New orders for manufactured durable goods in July increased $9.4 billion or 4.2 percent to $230.7 billion.

New Residential Sales   CHART  RSS Feed

Sales of new single-family houses in July 2012 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 372,000. This is 3.6 percent (+/- 14.1%)* above the revised June 2012 estimate of 359,000.

New Residential Construction   CHART  RSS Feed

Privately-owned housing starts in July 2012 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 746,000. This is 1.1 percent (+/- 9.6%)* below the revised June 2012 estimate of 754,000.

Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales   CHART  RSS Feed

U.S. total business end-of-month inventories for June 2012 were $1,580.3 billion, up 0.1 percent (+/-0.1%)* from last month. U.S. total business sales were $1,229.7 billion, down 1.1 percent (+/-0.2%) from last month.

Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services   CHART  RSS Feed

U.S. retail and food services sales for July reached $403.9 billion, an increase of 0.8 percent (+/- 0.5%) from the previous month.

Housing Vacancies and Homeownership   CHART  RSS Feed

Homeownership Rate (HR)
The homeownership rate in the second quarter 2012 (65.5 percent) was lower than the second quarter 2011 rate (65.9 percent). The homeownership rate in the South was lower than the corresponding second quarter 2011 rate, while the rates in the Northeast, Midwest, and West were not statistically different.

Rental Vacancy Rate (RVR)
The rental vacancy rate in the second quarter 2012 (8.6 percent) was lower than the second quarter 2011 rate (9.2 percent).

Homeowner Vacancy Rate (HVR)
The homeowner vacancy rate in the second quarter 2012 (2.1 percent) was lower than the second quarter 2011 rate (2.5 percent).

Quarterly Financial Report - Retail Trade   CHART  RSS Feed

After-tax profits for retail corporations with assets greater than $50 million averaged 2.8 cents per dollar of sales for the first quarter 2012 (the 3 months ending Apr. 30, 2012), down 0.4 cents from the after-tax profits average of 3.2 cents for the fourth quarter 2011 (the 3 months ending Jan. 31, 2012).