Estimates of End-of-Month Retail Inventories and Inventories/Sales Ratios by Kind of Business:\ 1996\ (Estimates are shown in millions of dollars and are based on data from the Monthly Retail Trade Survey, Annual\ Retail Trade Survey, and administrative records.)\ NAICS Code\Kind of Business\ \\Jan. 1996\Feb. 1996\Mar. 1996\Apr. 1996\May 1996\Jun. 1996\Jul. 1996\Aug. 1996\Sep. 1996\Oct. 1996\Nov. 1996\Dec. 1996\ \NOT ADJUSTED\ \Retail Inventories, total\ 315709 \320470 \322466 \324546 \323613 \319514 \319035 \321805 \331860 \353456 \358721 \328912 44,45 excl. 441\Total excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers\ 218963 \222089 \226298 \228792 \227601 \224632 \229235 \232719 \240833 \257817 \261001 \228456 441\Motor vehicle and parts dealers\ 96746 \98381 \96168 \95754 \96012 \94882 \89800 \89086 \91027 \95639 \97720 \100456 442,443\Furniture, home furn, electronics, and appliance stores\ 20949 \21088 \21327 \21859 \21880 \21538 \21778 \22360 \23383 \25332 \25348 \22055 444\Building materials, garden equip. and supplies dealers\ 26036 \26588 \27482 \27773 \27896 \27441 \27077 \26462 \26478 \26750 \26874 \26727 445\Food and beverage stores\ 28847 \28465 \28581 \28677 \28537 \28384 \28632 \28503 \29094 \30457 \31075 \30398 448\Clothing and clothing access. stores\ 26476 \27703 \28744 \28415 \27865 \27613 \29122 \30078 \30980 \33442 \33971 \27445 452\General merchandise stores\ 54975 \56233 \57739 \58209 \57820 \56965 \58457 \60476 \64513 \70350 \71760 \56302 4521\Department stores (excl. L.D.)\ 39996 \41153 \42233 \42554 \42185 \41466 \42479 \44063 \46894 \51173 \52385 \40903 \ADJUSTED(1)\ \Retail Inventories, total\ 323929 \324637 \322183 \322682 \325172 \325586 \329452 \331520 \332448 \334717 \333713 \334010 44,45 excl. 441\Total excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers\ 229358 \230246 \230626 \231574 \232071 \231588 \233425 \234370 \234354 \236491 \236821 \236601 441\Motor vehicle and parts dealers\ 94571 \94391 \91557 \91108 \93101 \93998 \96027 \97150 \98094 \98226 \96892 \97409 442,443\Furniture, home furn, electronics, and appliance stores\ 21664 \22105 \22146 \22443 \22627 \22366 \22359 \22724 \22790 \22883 \22392 \22300 444\Building materials, garden equip. and supplies dealers\ 26459 \26429 \26553 \26705 \26927 \27089 \27213 \26975 \27129 \27213 \27422 \27497 445\Food and beverage stores\ 28716 \28821 \28741 \29009 \29046 \28879 \29148 \29142 \29251 \29513 \29600 \29718 448\Clothing and clothing access. stores\ 29353 \29346 \29391 \28936 \28816 \28854 \29064 \29287 \29089 \29569 \30223 \29864 452\General merchandise stores\ 59763 \59654 \59726 \59689 \59765 \60004 \60554 \61025 \60846 \60899 \60930 \60611 4521\Department stores (excl. L.D.)\ 43569 \43594 \43674 \43600 \43580 \43741 \44065 \44463 \44240 \44267 \44356 \44124 \INVENTORIES/SALES, RATIOS NOT ADJUSTED\ \Retail Trade, total\ 1.88 \1.84 \1.68 \1.69 \1.57 \1.62 \1.61 \1.57 \1.75 \1.75 \1.76 \1.38 44,45 excl. 441\Total excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers\ 1.78 \1.78 \1.66 \1.66 \1.54 \1.58 \1.61 \1.56 \1.74 \1.74 \1.68 \1.19 441\Motor vehicle and parts dealers\ 2.15 \1.98 \1.72 \1.77 \1.65 \1.72 \1.63 \1.6 \1.78 \1.76 \2.03 \2.17 442,443\Furniture, home furn, electronics, and appliance stores\ 2.07 \2.14 \1.96 \2.08 \1.99 \1.98 \1.97 \1.92 \2.1 \2.18 \2.02 \1.46 444\Building materials, garden equip. and supplies dealers\ 2.24 \2.24 \2.05 \1.77 \1.64 \1.69 \1.67 \1.67 \1.77 \1.65 \1.86 \1.97 445\Food and beverage stores\ 0.91 \0.92 \0.86 \0.89 \0.83 \0.85 \0.83 \0.82 \0.9 \0.91 \0.91 \0.83 448\Clothing and clothing access. stores\ 3.44 \3.07 \2.77 \2.68 \2.44 \2.61 \2.85 \2.47 \2.91 \2.97 \2.63 \1.37 452\General merchandise stores\ 2.9 \2.7 \2.45 \2.45 \2.21 \2.26 \2.43 \2.26 \2.67 \2.67 \2.3 \1.27 4521\Department stores (excl. L.D.)\ 3.26 \2.99 \2.67 \2.67 \2.42 \2.49 \2.7 \2.46 \2.91 \2.93 \2.45 \1.29 \INVENTORIES/SALES, RATIOS ADJUSTED(1)\ \Retail Trade, total\ 1.71 \1.68 \1.66 \1.65 \1.65 \1.66 \1.68 \1.69 \1.67 \1.67 \1.66 \1.66 44,45 excl. 441\Total excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers\ 1.65 \1.64 \1.62 \1.61 \1.61 \1.6 \1.61 \1.62 \1.61 \1.6 \1.6 \1.59 441\Motor vehicle and parts dealers\ 1.88 \1.8 \1.74 \1.77 \1.78 \1.81 \1.85 \1.88 \1.84 \1.84 \1.83 \1.84 442,443\Furniture, home furn, electronics, and appliance stores\ 1.99 \2.01 \1.97 \1.98 \1.99 \1.96 \1.97 \1.99 \1.96 \1.97 \1.95 \1.95 444\Building materials, garden equip. and supplies dealers\ 1.89 \1.88 \1.87 \1.86 \1.86 \1.81 \1.83 \1.8 \1.81 \1.8 \1.79 \1.84 445\Food and beverage stores\ 0.87 \0.87 \0.87 \0.87 \0.87 \0.86 \0.87 \0.87 \0.87 \0.87 \0.87 \0.88 448\Clothing and clothing access. stores\ 2.64 \2.58 \2.57 \2.53 \2.5 \2.53 \2.56 \2.57 \2.52 \2.55 \2.66 \2.61 452\General merchandise stores\ 2.37 \2.33 \2.33 \2.28 \2.28 \2.3 \2.31 \2.3 \2.29 \2.26 \2.27 \2.24 4521\Department stores (excl. L.D.)\ 2.55 \2.52 \2.53 \2.46 \2.48 \2.5 \2.5 \2.5 \2.48 \2.46 \2.46 \2.44 (1) Inventory estimates are adjusted for seasonal variation and, in the case of sales for holiday and trading day differences. Estimates are\ not adjusted for price changes.\ Note: Estimates exclude food services. Inventory estimates include data for auxilary establishments; for example, warehouses servicing retail stores. Estimates\ are adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes. Cumulative seasonally adjusted sales estimates are not tabulated.\ Information on sample design and estimation procedures can be found on the internet at www.census.gov/mrts/www/ndesign.html. Information on measures of sampling\ variability can be found at \www.census.gov/mrts/www/nrely.html.\