Chemical Shipments Rise

U .S. chemical shipments increased in August, according to data from the Commerce Department. The value of shipments of all chemicals rose 1.1% from July and 4.8% from the comparable month in 2004. The value of chemical shipments, excluding pharmaceuticals, however, fell 0.3% from the prior month, despite increasing 8.8% from August of last year. Inventories of all chemicals rose 0.3% from July for both the total chemical industry and chemicals excluding drugs. Total chemical inventories were up 1.7% from the year-earlier month, but without pharmaceuticals, they jumped 9.6%.