Basic guidelines In this series, I examine inventory using a simple rule of thumb: Inventory increases ought to roughly parallel revenue increases. If inventory bloats more quickly than sales grow, this might be a sign that expected sales haven't materialized. Is the current inventory situation at Fushi Copperweld (Nasdaq: FSIN) out of line? To figure that out, start by comparing the company's inventory growth to sales growth. How is Fushi Copperweld doing by this quick checkup? At first glance, not so great. Trailing-12-month revenue decreased 3.0%, and inventory increased 7.5%. Comparing the latest quarter to the prior-year quarter, the story looks potentially problematic. Revenue shrank 2.3%, and inventory grew 7.5%. Over the sequential quarterly period, the trend looks OK but not great. Revenue dropped 6.1%, and inventory dropped 5.3%.