Sales of household appliances at wholesale rose 1.6 percent in September, but they were the only bright spot among the construction, appliance, hardware and home furnishings categories tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau, which all posted declines. Overall, wholesale sales of all products rose just 0.4 percent for the month.

 

  • Household Appliances posted a wholesale volume of $71 billion, slowly recovering from a 6.4 percent decline in February. Appliances represent about 10 percent of all money flowing through merchant wholesale businesses.
  • Hardware & PHVAC wholesalers saw the biggest drop, down 2.4 percent to $18 billion from August — although it was the category’s first decrease in seven months.
  • Sales of Lumber & Construction Materials slumped 2 percent, to $22 billion. Monthly sales have fallen in four of the last six months, reflecting continuing declines in new-home construction.
  • Home Furnishings also declined by 1.4 percent for the month, to $11 billion. YOY sales are 11 percent higher, virtually the same growth as that of all durable products combined.
  • Overall sales of Durable Goods at wholesale rose by 0.7 percent to $325 billion, with annual growth of 11 percent.
  • Wholesale volume of Non-Durables edged up 0.1 percent to $375 billion, but on an annual basis, their sales are 18 percent higher, YOY.