• Importance (A-F): This release merits a D-.
• Source: The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce.
• Release Time: 10:00 ET around the fifth business day of the month (data for two months prior).
• Raw Data Available At: www.census.gov.

The wholesale trade report includes sales and inventory statistics from the second stage of the manufacturing process. The sales figures say close to nothing about personal consumption and therefore do not move the market.

Wholesale inventories sometimes swing enough to change the aggregate inventory profile (aggregate inventory is the sum of inventory at the manufacturing, wholesale, and retail levels), which may affect the GDP outlook. In that event they can elicit a small market reaction. More often than not, however, this release goes unnoticed except by market economists.