Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods: NAICS 423

About the Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods subsector

The merchant wholesalers, durable goods subsector is part of the wholesale trade sector.

Industries in the Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods subsector sell capital or durable goods to other businesses. Merchant wholesalers generally take title to the goods that they sell; in other words, they buy and sell goods on their own account. Durable goods are new or used items generally with a normal life expectancy of three years or more. Durable goods merchant wholesale trade establishments are engaged in wholesaling products, such as motor vehicles, furniture, construction materials, machinery and equipment (including household-type appliances), metals and minerals (except petroleum), sporting goods, toys and hobby goods, recyclable materials, and parts.

North American Industry Classification System

The merchant wholesalers, durable goods subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Motor Vehicle and Motor Vehicle Parts and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4231
  • Furniture and Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4232
  • Lumber and Other Construction Materials Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4233
  • Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4234
  • Metal and Mineral (except Petroleum) Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4235
  • Electrical and Electronic Goods Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4236
  • Hardware, and Plumbing and Heating Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4237
  • Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4238
  • Miscellaneous Durable Goods Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4239

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in merchant wholesalers, durable goods. These data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment and Layoffs

Data series Back
data
Jun.
2008
Jul.
2008
Aug.
2008
Sep.
2008

Employment (in thousands)

 

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

Jump to page with historical data
3,103.6 3,094.3 (P) 3,086.6 (P) 3,084.2

Employment, nonsupervisory workers

Jump to page with historical data
2,537.5 2,530.2 (P) 2,511.9  

Layoffs

 

Mass layoff events

Jump to page with historical data
4 14 12  

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

Jump to page with historical data
219 1,280 640  

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

Data series Back
data
3rd quarter
2007
4th quarter
2007
1st quarter
2008
2nd quarter
2008

Extended mass layoff events

Jump to page with historical data
7 22 (P) 20 (P) 10

Separations

Jump to page with historical data
773 2,782 (P) 1,935 (P) 1,851

Initial claimants

Jump to page with historical data
713 3,974 (P) 1,853 (P) 817

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2007

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

202,850

Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products

428,580

Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products

121,120

Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks

98,290

Truck drivers, light or delivery services

93,090

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for merchant wholesalers, durable goods.

(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)

Earnings and Hours

This section presents data on employee earnings and weekly hours. The latest industry averages of hourly earnings and weekly hours for production or nonsupervisory employees are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in merchant wholesalers, durable goods.

Earnings and Hours of Production Workers

Data series Back
data
May
2008
Jun.
2008
Jul.
2008
Aug.
2008

Average hourly earnings

Jump to page with historical data
$20.06 $20.13 $20.20 (P) $20.32

Average weekly hours

Jump to page with historical data
38.8 39.5 38.7 (P) 38.9

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2007
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

$11.15 $11.82 $23,200 $24,580

Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products

$23.62 $28.06 $49,140 $58,360

Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products

$31.31 $35.94 $65,130 $74,760

Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks

$13.14 $13.75 $27,330 $28,590

Truck drivers, light or delivery services

$12.11 $12.52 $25,180 $26,030

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Work-related Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses

This section presents data for the industry on the number of workplace fatalities and the rates of workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in merchant wholesalers, durable goods. An injury or illness is considered to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.

Data series 2004 2005 2006 2007

Fatalities

 

Number of fatalities

101 108 111 (P) 98

Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers

 

Total recordable cases

4.1 4.1 3.9  

Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer

2.2 2.2 2.1  

Cases involving days away from work

1.3 1.3 1.2  

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

0.9 0.9 0.9  

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Prices

This section provides industry-specific pricing information. The producer price index measures the percentage change in prices that domestic producers receive for goods and services. The prices included in the producer price index are from the first commercial transaction.

Data series Back
data
May
2008
Jun.
2008
Jul.
2008
Aug.
2008

Producer price index

Jump to page with historical data
(P) 115.5 (P) 118.5 (P) 120.0 (P) 123.1

Percent change from previous month

 

(P) 1.4% (P) 2.6% (P) 1.3% (P) 2.6%

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in merchant wholesalers, durable goods. Also included in this section is information on productivity, presented as the rate of change in output per hour of workers in the industry.

Establishments

Data series Back
data
1st quarter
2007
2nd quarter
2007
3rd quarter
2007
4th quarter
2007

Number of establishments

 

Private industry

Jump to page with historical data
(P) 257,057 (P) 257,397 (P) 257,974 (P) 257,456

Local government

Jump to page with historical data
(P) 16 (P) 17 (P) 17 (P) 17

State government

Jump to page with historical data
(P) 5 (P) 5 (P) 3 (P) 3

Federal government

Jump to page with historical data
       

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Productivity

Data series Back
data
2004 2005 2006 2007

Labor productivity index, output per hour

Jump to page with historical data
161.472 167.351 174.529 178.415

Percent change from previous year

Jump to page with historical data
10.1 3.6 4.3 2.2

Labor index, total labor hours

Jump to page with historical data
92.123 94.028 96.798 98.284

Percent change from previous year

Jump to page with historical data
-0.4 2.1 2.9 1.5

Output index

Jump to page with historical data
148.753 157.357 168.941 175.353

Percent change from previous year

Jump to page with historical data
9.7 5.8 7.4 3.8

Unit labor costs index

Jump to page with historical data
90.400 89.893 89.617 90.654

Percent change from previous year

Jump to page with historical data
-4.6 -0.6 -0.3 1.2

(Source: Productivity and Costs)

Other BLS Resources

Career Guide to Industries

To learn about careers from an industry perspective, see the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: October 08, 2008