Category Archives: Wholesalers

U.S. Wholesale Trade

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wholesaleToday’s market size is the size of the wholesale trade industry in the United States. This industry breaks down into those who work with durable goods—furniture, cars, trucks, construction materials, electronics, appliances and the like—and those who deal in nondurables—food, clothes, paper products, drugs, gas, and other such.

The graph shows total annual sales made by wholesale firms that are not also manufacturers over the period 1992-2015. The sales are broken out by the two major categories discussed, durable goods and nondurable goods. There is also one further line presented, one showing sales of all nondurable goods wholesalers other than those selling petroleum and petroleum products. We have added this line by way of showing how much less volatility there is in annual sales volumes when the petroleum sector is removed from the nondurables category.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2000, 2009 and 2015
Market size: $2.81, $3.83 and $5.32 billion respectively
Source: “Table 2. Revised (Not Adjusted) Estimates of Monthly Sales, Inventories, and Inventories/Sales Ratios of Merchant Wholesalers, Except Manufacturers’ Sales Branches and Offices: January 1992 Through July 2016, Monthly & Annual Wholesale Trade reports, U.S. Census Bureau, available online here
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce

Medical Equipment Wholesalers

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All week we have been looking at wholesale industries that are in decline, either because the products in which they deal are in decline or because of more structural changes in the overall distribution of some products. For a change of pace, today we look at one of the wholesale industries that has been doing extremely well over the last decade, and one not associated with the housing bubble, which temporarily lifted many boats.

The figures below are for the industry defined by the Census Bureau as: “…establishments primarily engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of professional medical equipment, instruments, and supplies (except ophthalmic equipment and instruments and goods used by ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians).” [NAICS 42-3450] As an aside, the wholesalers of ophthalmic equipment have also been doing quite well, as have most U.S. industries involved with the delivery of products and equipment used in the delivery of health care services generally.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 9,782 and 8,478 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $58.79 and $134.59 billion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 121,572 and 181,685 respectively.
Source: “Sector 42: EC0742I2: Wholesale Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census, after conversion of the data to a NAICS 2002 basis.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Book Wholesalers

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The distribution network through which books get from the publisher to the reader is one that has been going through enormous change over the last few decades. First, the big box bookstores moved into a space previously occupied by smaller retailers. Then, Amazon got into the business and started serving as both a wholesaler and a retailer, but one without a store front, operating entirely online. Since then, the rise of the electronic book, or e-book, has further altered the way that books make their way to the reader. The landscape for book distribution seems to be in a state of constant change these days, much as the music industry experienced a decade ago. The figures that follow are for the industry designated by the NAICS code 42-4920: Book, Periodical, and Newspaper Merchant Wholesalers.

Geographic reference: United States
Years: 1997, 2002 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 3,257; 3,464 and 2,789 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $33.63; $30.90 and $28.32 billion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 89,309; 76,072 and 63,511 respectively.
Source: “Sector 42: EC0742I2: Wholesale Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Industrial Supplies Merchant Wholesalers

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As we saw in Monday’s post, the overall wholesale industry is doing reasonably well. However, certain industries within this sector are seeing major change and experiencing shrinkage. Those involved as wholesalers of industrial supplies in the United States, perhaps not surprisingly, have seen declines over the last decade. This is very likely a reflection of changes in the manufacturing sector generally, including such things as automation and the outsourcing and off-shoring of many assembly operations.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 15,055 and 8,259 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $64.86 and $54.89 billion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 140,735 and 87,975 respectively.
Source: “Sector 42: EC0742I2: Wholesale Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census, after conversion of the data to a NAICS 2002 basis.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Hardware Merchant Wholesalers

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Wholesalers of hardware in the United States have seen tough times in the last decade which is somewhat surprising given the robust nature of the construction business during the period in question, 1997 to 2007. In fact, on the retail side of the business, hardware stores and home improvement centers saw growth over this period. It is worth noting that this industry saw some growth between 2002 and 2007, during the height of the housing boom. We provide market size data on this industry for all three census years to show this down up cycle. Despite the increase in sales from 2002 to 2007, they did not reach back to the 1997 level. If we look at inflation adjusted dollar sales, this industry’s sales in 2007 were 21% lower than in 1997.

Those involved with the wholesaling of hardware—defined for this market by the Census Bureau as “establishments primarily engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of hardware, knives, or handtools,” [NAICS 42-3710]— may be suffering from the rise of the big box retailer who in many cases deals directly with the manufacturer to obtain merchandise. But, we will leave a closer look at retailers until next week.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997, 2002 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 9,473; 6,841 and 6,921 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $44.06; $32.83 and $43.90 billion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 110,963; 81,734 and 88,859 respectively.
Source: “Sector 42: EC0742I2: Wholesale Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census, after conversion of the data to a NAICS 2002 basis.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Wholesale Trade

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The last couple of posts have been about the size of certain wholesale and retail industries. We thought that we’d spend this week on a few key wholesale industries that have seen particular declines over the last decade or so. In order to place those industry’s relative health into a larger context, we’ll start off with a look at the entire industry as a whole, all wholesalers. There is a clear pattern of consolidation evident as the number of establishments declined while sales grew. Overall, the sector looks pretty healthy as of 2007, ending that year with fewer establishments but 8.6% more employees than in 1997 and a nearly 50% increase in sales. Unfortunately, December 2007 was also the official start of a significant recession.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 453,470 and 432,094 respectively for a decrease of 4.7%.
Market size: Sales: $4,059.7 and $6,039.2 billion respectively for an increase of 48.76%.
Source: “Sector 00: EC0700CADV2: All Sectors: Core Business Statistics Series: Advanced Compariative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Office Equipment and Computer Wholesalers

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The way we move food, for example, from producer to end user has not changed a great deal in the last decade. The way we move office equipment and computers from producer to end user has changed greatly. The wholesalers of office equipment and computers have seen their business shrink significantly and the routes used to get these products to the end user have bypassed traditional wholesalers.

Worth noting is the fact that the effects of the recession, which began in December 2007, are not yet visible in these market size data. The markets presented here are for two Census Bureau defined industries: Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers [NAICS 42-3420], and Computer and Computer Peripheral Equipment Wholesalers [NAICS 42-3430].

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 24,248 and 17,801 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $258.09 and $290.39 billion respectively.
Source: “Sector 42: EC0742I2: Wholesale Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the U.S. (2002 NAICS): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Furniture Wholesalers

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The furniture industry is one that has been experiencing a significant shift in how it gets product to market. The role of the wholesaler in the distribution of furniture in the United States is declining as large retailers go directly to manufacturers and manufacturers set up their own direct sales outlets. The market size data presented here are for all furniture wholesalers and include the two industries designated by the U.S. Census Bureau with NAICS codes 42-3210 [Furniture Merchant Wholesalers] and 42-3220 [Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers].

Tomorrow we will look at furniture retailers.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 15,246 and 14,433 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $75.01 and $91.25 billion respectively (error in original post corrected on Feb. 7, 2011).
Source: “Sector 42: EC0742I2: Wholesale Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.