WASHINGTON — Inventories at US wholesalers increased in April as stockpiles of cars, machinery and other long-lasting goods grew.

The inventories of US wholesalers increased by 0.6 percent from the prior month to a seasonally-adjusted $483.5 billion, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires forecast a 0.5 percent gain.

Sales for wholesalers were up 1.1 percent in April to $415.02 billion.

Wholesalers must stock the pipeline to keep up with end demand. Despite weak job creation and worries about Europe, personal spending has been a bright spot for the US economy so far this year.

The government’s GDP report last week showed consumer spending rose 2.7 percent during the January to March period, the best quarterly gain since 2010. Separate data showed personal spending increased 0.3 percent in April from the prior month.

But the economy as a whole slowed to a 1.9 percent growth rate in the first quarter, from a three percent annualized gain in the final quarter of 2011, partially because the pace of inventory increases slowed.

According to Friday’s report, restocking of automobiles, up 1.7 percent, and machinery, up 2.4 percent, helped drive the overall inventory gains in April.

Wholesalers’ inventories of all durable goods increased by 1.1 percent, the strongest gain since May 2011.

Meanwhile, nondurable goods inventories moved down 0.1 percent in April. Declining stockpiles of drugs and groceries helped offset a two percent rise in petroleum inventories.

The amount of wholesale goods on hand relative to sales in April was 1.17, the same as the prior month. The inventory-to-sales ratio measures how many months it would take for a firm to deplete its current inventory.

In March, overall wholesale inventories increased 0.3 percent, as previously reported. However, sales growth was revised down to 0.4 percent from 0.5 percent.