The national economy will muddle through, as long as companies maintain small stockpiles of unsold goods.

Since the Soviets decided to withdraw their military forces from Eastern Europe, the rationale for maintaining stockpiles of American nuclear weapons there has come under increasing challenge.

Some of the images seemed to confirm that the base had indeed been maintaining stockpiles of supplies on hand for any passing ships that needed them.

The Soviet Army is maintaining large stockpiles of ammunition and fuel in Eastern European nations as it withdraws some of its units, the Defense Intelligence Agency concluded in a recent assessment.

But because drug dealers often maintain large stockpiles, it can take months for a drop in supply from abroad to be reflected in higher street prices.

According to proponents of the petrodollar warfare hypothesis, because most countries rely on oil imports, they are forced to maintain large stockpiles of dollars in order to continue imports.

Neither Germany nor the Allied nations used any of their war gases in combat, despite maintaining large stockpiles and occasional calls for their use, possibly heeding warnings of awful retaliation.

But people are trying to maintain stockpiles and hedge against the future, and that's having a definite effect.

The United States and the Soviet Union both maintain large stockpiles of chemical weapons.

The Federal Government is shifting from developing nuclear arms to maintaining stockpiles in good condition and using computer simulations and other advanced techniques to insure their potency.