Inventories have been more or less in balance with shipments in the industrial sector as a whole, but inventories of electronic parts and devices have been at elevated levels since the second half of 2006 due mainly to accelerated production leading up to new product releases.
Although strong demand for IT-related goods is likely to prevent sharp adjustments in inventories, attention should continue to be paid to developments in inventories of IT-related products as the pace of increase in global production capacity in this sector is rapid. These positive developments in the corporate sector are reflected in firms' view of business conditions.