Change in the Value of Inventories

Change in the Value of Inventories is a national-accounts measure of the difference between additions to and withdrawals from inventories of goods held by producers during a given period, measured at current prices, and is published in the Latin Macro Watch dataset of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). As a component of gross capital formation, it captures short-run fluctuations in stockbuilding that influence GDP. The series supports economists, national-accounts analysts and researchers tracking the business cycle across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Coverage

Data are available for 14 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean at annual and quarterly frequency, spanning 1990 to 2026. Values are reported in millions of domestic currency, millions of USD, as a share of GDP and in constant prices using the national-accounts deflator. Available transformations include quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth rates.

Sources

Figures are compiled from national statistical institutes, including INDEC - Argentina, INEGI - Mexico, the Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas (INE) de Chile and the Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada, among other statistical agencies in the region.

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Format	CSV
Language	en
Country	Argentina Bahamas Trinidad & Tobago Belize Costa Rica Dominican Republic Ecuador Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia El Salvador Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Panama Uruguay Venezuela Barbados Paraguay Peru Suriname
Data notes	What does Change in the Value of Inventories measure? It measures the difference between additions to and withdrawals from inventories of goods held by producers during a given period, measured at current prices. How does this indicator relate to GDP? It is a component of gross capital formation in the national accounts, so changes in stockbuilding feed directly into GDP and can drive short-run fluctuations in the business cycle. How many countries and which periods are covered? The indicator covers 14 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, with data spanning 1990 to 2026 at annual and quarterly frequency. What units and transformations are available? Values are reported in millions of domestic currency or USD, as a share of GDP and in constant prices using the national-accounts deflator. Transformations include quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth rates. Where does the data come from? The data are compiled from national statistical institutes, including INDEC - Argentina, INEGI - Mexico, the Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas (INE) de Chile and the Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada. What is this indicator typically used for? It is used to analyze stockbuilding behavior, decompose GDP growth and track business-cycle dynamics across Latin American and Caribbean economies. How do I cite this indicator? Cite it as: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Latin Macro Watch — "Change in the Value of Inventories." data.iadb.org/dataset/latin-macro-watch-dataset.