STATE OF BUSINESS: Demand on the Rise

Of all the major indicators of U.S. economic health, manufacturers' inventories were the last to turn around. Last week the Commerce Department reported that manufacturers, cutting down their inventories since October 1957, have begun to build them up again. Their stocks climbed $300 million to $49.5 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis. The backlog of unfilled orders in January totaled $47.6 billion, a gain of $800 million over December. The turn came just about when Government economists expected; they expect that inventories will continue to climb at a moderate pace for the rest of the year.

Big reason for the inventory...