— The U.S. Census Bureau announced the following new manufacturing and trade statistics for August 2018: The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for August, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,461.9 billion, up 0.5 percent (±0.1 percent) from July 2018 and was up 7.8 percent (±1.2 percent) from August 2017. Manufacturers’ and trade inventories, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $1,960.8 billion, up 0.5 percent (±0.1 percent) from July 2018 and were up ... (full story)