Wholesale inventories drop more than expected in March as sales continue to weaken

Wholesale inventories fall more than expected

WASHINGTON — Wholesalers slashed inventories for a seventh straight month in March as businesses struggled to get stockpiles in line with plunging sales.

The Commerce Department says wholesale inventories dropped 1.6 percent in March, much larger than the 1 percent fall that analysts had expected. That followed a 1.7 percent drop in February, the largest monthly decline on records that go back 17 years.

Wholesalers saw sales plunge 2.4 percent in March, the fifth decline in six months.