- May retail sales equals $620.2 billion and is sharply above the pandemic low of $409.8 billion.
- The strong consumer demand has overwhelmed retail and business inventory levels, and this shows in the low inventory-to-sales ratio of these segments.
- On the other hand, shortages of semi-conductor chips have resulted in auto manufacturers not able to complete the build-out of cars and trucks. The inventory-to-sales ratio is at a record low level of 1.15-to-1.0.
- Anotherarea experiencing a supply and demand imbalance is the housing market.
For further details see:
Strong Consumer Demand But Too Little Inventory