https://macropaperwarehouse.com/authors/maria-jose-carreras-valle/Maria-Jose Carreras-ValleHugo -- gohugo.ioen-usThu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://macropaperwarehouse.com/papers/increasing-inventories-the-role-of-delivery-times/Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://macropaperwarehouse.com/papers/increasing-inventories-the-role-of-delivery-times/<p>This paper documents and explains a previously unreported reversal in U.S. manufacturing inventory trends: after a 25-year secular decline, inventories-to-sales ratios have been rising steadily since 2005. The central claim is that this reversal is driven by the rise of global sourcing, which lengthens and makes more volatile the delivery times of inputs, compelling firms to hold larger buffer stocks. The paper combines new empirical evidence with a calibrated quantitative model to attribute 81% of the post-2005 inventory rise to global sourcing.</p>