The U.S. Census Bureau announced the following new manufacturing and trade statistics for January 2024: {tables} The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for January, adjusted for seasonal and trading day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,833.3 billion, down 1.3 percent (±0.2 percent) from December 2023 and was down 1.2 percent (±0.4 percent) from January 2023. Manufacturers’ and trade inventories for January, adjusted for seasonal and trading day differences but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $2,555.0 billion, virtually ... (full story)