Bloomberg reports:

Sales at U.S. wholesalers fell four times faster than inventories in January, indicating businesses will pare orders further in coming months. Sales slumped 2.9 percent to $326.1 billion, the lowest level in more than three years, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The 0.7 percent decrease in the value of stockpiles followed a revised 1.5 percent decrease in the prior month. It was the fifth straight monthly drop, the longest such stretch in almost seven years.