US Corporate Shares May Rise May 7/16/2021

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. corporate inventory soared in May, but shortages of vehicles make it harder for retailers to reopen warehouses to meet growing demand.

Corporate inventories rose 0.1% to 0.5% in April, the U.S. Commerce Department said Friday. Commodities are an important component of a country’s gross domestic product (GDP). May profits were in line with the expectations of economists.

In May, inventory was up 4.5% over the previous year.

Retail inventory fell 0.8% in May, as estimated in an earlier report released last month. This was followed by a 1.7% decline in April.

Vehicle inventory fell 5.5% instead of the 5.3% estimated in an earlier report released last month. The global shortage of semiconductors is leading to lower car production, lower inventory, higher used car and truck prices, and rising inflation.

Commodities, excluding vehicles, increased by 0.9% last month, as estimated last month, when entering GDP. Overall, inventory increased by 1.3% and industrial inventory by 0.9% in May.

(Written by Lucia Mudigani)