US: Business inventories were estimated at $1,950.0 billion in July, up 0.6% from June 2018

"Manufacturers’ and trade inventories were estimated at an end-of-month level of $1,950.0 billion, up 0.6 percent from June 2018 and were up 4.3 percent from July 2017," the U.S. Census Bureau reported on Friday.

Key takeaways from the press release

• The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for July was estimated at $1,454.1 billion, up 0.2 percent from June 2018 and was up 8.1 percent from July 2017. 
• The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of July was 1.34. The July 2017 ratio was 1.39.