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March 15, 2005 10:30 AM, EST

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usiness inventories rose 0.9% in January, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

When inventories and sales are growing, it usually means trucking is seeing additional demand to deliver goods and restock shelves.

The increase followed a 0.2% gain in December and brought the value of goods held by manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers to $1.29 trillion, Commerce said.

The inventory-to-sales ratio was unchanged at 1.3 months, matching a record set last March. The ratio measures the number of months it would take to deplete stocks at the current rate of sales.

Commerce also said retail inventories rose 0.4%, while retail sales increased 0.2%. Auto and parts dealer inventories fell 0.6%.