TOKYO -- Manufacturers from Samsung to Ford are seeing a sharp increase in inventory, as consumer demand weakens amid surging inflation, prompting worries that companies will have to adjust production in the face of a looming protracted economic downturn.
Inventory held by 2,349 listed global manufacturing companies hit a record $1.87 trillion at the end of March, up $97 billion from three months earlier, according to a Nikkei analysis of information from QUICK FactSet. That was the highest level in 10 years, or since comparable data have been available.
