Inventories-to-Sales Ratio
The inventories-to-sales ratio measures how many months of sales US businesses hold in stock across manufacturing, wholesale, and retail. A reading of 1.4 means firms are sitting on 1.4 months of sales. It is a clean window into whether the economy is overstocked or running lean.
Inventories/sales ratio
Next release: Nov 17, 2026
Latest reading
As of August 2026, Inventories/Sales (Inventories/sales ratio) stands at 1.33 — down from 1.34 the prior reading, 24% below the April 2020 record of 1.74. A rising ratio often precedes recessions — sales fall while inventories lag, leaving shelves overstocked and production cuts ahead. A falling ratio signals strong demand relative to supply and tends to drive restocking. The series spiked above 1.45 in 2009 and briefly far higher in 2020; the 12-month average smooths the monthly noise. Series history runs from 1993 to present.
Sources, methodology & freshnessCensus Bureau via FRED (ISRATIO), monthly, seasonally adjusted · Monthly, with every releaseData as of 2026-08-01 · Open ↓Close ↑
Full history
Methodology & data
Inventories/Sales is sourced from Census via the Federal Reserve's FRED service (Census Bureau via FRED (ISRATIO), monthly, seasonally adjusted). We pull the complete history, chart it on a monthly basis, overlay SPY for context, and generate a dated plain-English reading from the latest release — with no smoothing or adjustment beyond what the chart legend states.
Every reading is stamped with its release date. Latest observation 2026-08-01; site refreshed 2026-10-22. Maintained and reviewed by Yuriy Matso; see our methodology for the standards every series on the site is held to.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Inventories-to-Sales Ratio?
The inventories-to-sales ratio measures how many months of sales US businesses hold in stock across manufacturing, wholesale, and retail. A reading of 1.4 means firms are sitting on 1.4 months of sales. It is a clean window into whether the economy is overstocked or running lean.
How do you read Inventories/Sales?
A rising ratio often precedes recessions — sales fall while inventories lag, leaving shelves overstocked and production cuts ahead. A falling ratio signals strong demand relative to supply and tends to drive restocking. The series spiked above 1.45 in 2009 and briefly far higher in 2020; the 12-month average smooths the monthly noise.
Where does the Inventories/Sales data come from?
Census Bureau via FRED (ISRATIO), monthly, seasonally adjusted. We chart the full history and publish a dated, plain-English reading with every release; the raw series is downloadable as CSV at /data/indicators/inventories-sales-ratio.csv.
How often is Inventories/Sales updated?
Inventories/Sales is a monthly series from Census, refreshed here as soon as a new release posts to FRED.
Inventories/sales ratio
Next release: Nov 17, 2026