The U.S. Census Bureau announced the following new manufacturing and trade statistics for April 2024: {tables} The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for April, adjusted for seasonal and trading day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,862.4 billion, up 0.3 percent (±0.2 percent) from March 2024 and was up 2.2 percent (±0.3 percent) from April 2023. Manufacturers’ and trade inventories for April, adjusted for seasonal and trading day differences but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $2,545.2 billion, up 0.3 percent (±0.1 ... (full story)