Inventory changes on a daily basis, and Tighe emails his entire network when he receives a new shipment.

FORBES: A Matchmaker for Excess Drugs and the Patients Who Need Them

That makes some of the top line numbers problematic because inventory changes are notoriously hard to interpret correctly.

FORBES: Our Inventory Recovery

Real final sales (real GDP minus inventory changes) were up only 0.9 percent.

FORBES: Our Inventory Recovery

That would have been a significant challenge to retailers, given how many types of phones any store sells and how quickly that inventory changes.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Because prices turned around at different times in different metros, and some metros have seen prices rise for 2 years or more, metro-level inventory changes show what might happen to inventory nationally as the price rebound continues.

FORBES: Housing Inventory Shortage No Longer Free Falling

Inventory of award seats changes all the time.

WSJ: Best and Worst Airlines for Redeeming Points, Miles

According to sources we spoke with, the world might only have a few weeks to respond if Iran moves towards weaponization, a process that could be signaled by banning IAEA inspectors, or changes in inventory levels of uranium enriched to 3.5% or 20% (90% is needed for weapons).

FORBES: Learning To Live With A Nuclear Iran

Some economists have argued that just-in-time methods of inventory control, which allow firms to adjust production more quickly to changes in sales, should help to prevent an unwanted build-up of stocks and so smooth out the economic cycle.

ECONOMIST: Stockbuilding

Even with existing technology, the amount of information that a supply chain can provide changes the way in which companies deal with both shipments and inventory.

ECONOMIST: Delivery companies are consolidating