Inventory inching up relative to sales across sectors, FMCG less affected

Festive season, supply chain issues may have been contributing factors leading to higher inventory

Companies had more inventory lying with them than before relative to their sales at the end of the first half of a year marked by pandemic-related challenges.

Inventory as a percentage of sales rose to 10.03 per cent compared to 9.36 per cent in September 2019 and 9.09 per cent in September 2018. There has been a rising trend in recent years. It was 8.93 per cent in September 2017 (see chart 1).

The analysis is based on average inventory and net sales over the trailing 12 months for 326 firms with continous data over the period under consideration. Sectors such as