Manufacturing sales of ~$71B in November missed estimates slightly, falling 1.2% M/M on the back of weaker vehicle (down 16%) and vehicle parts (down 6%) sales…

… which drove a ~2% decline in wholesale sales, the second largest decline over the past two years (up 0.1% excluding automotive).

That softness also showed up in inventories, which inched higher on the back of a 1.4% rise in transportation equipment…

… while capacity utilization in the category fell over 6%. If that dynamic holds…

… it would be supportive of continued tuck-in M&A from larger players like Linamar and Martinrea.

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