Economics

Factories Be Warned: U.S. Wholesalers Face an Inventory Glut

New data reflects a worrying outlook for manufacturers

Aluminum components sit in a warehouse before being manufactured into ladders at a Werner Co. factory in Louisville, Kentucky

Luke Sharrett
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

If wholesalers have anything to say about it, America's manufacturers may be in the doldrums for a while.

Sales of durable goods at U.S. distributors in January and February suffered the biggest two-month drop since the recession's last gasp in early 2009, figures from the Commerce Department showed Thursday in Washington.