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1997 ECONOMIC CENSUS - WHOLESALE TRADE (SECTOR 42)
PURPOSE
To provide periodic and comprehensive data about wholesale trade establishments and their activities. The United States Code, Title 13, requires this census and provides for mandatory responses.
COVERAGE
Domestic establishments with payroll that sell merchandise to retailers or other wholesalers; sell to industrial, commercial, farm, institutional, or professional users; or act as agents or brokers in buying or selling merchandise for such persons or companies. These are all establishments classified in NAICS Sector 42, Wholesale Trade. In 1997, over 453,000 establishments reported total wholesale sales of slightly more than $4 trillion.
CONTENT
All establishments provide data on kind of business; type of operation; geographic location; sales; gross sales value of goods sold on commission; commissions received; annual and first quarter payroll; number of employees for the pay period including March 12; operating expenses, previous and current end-of-year inventories; and total purchases for resale. Establishments receiving the standard form provide additional data on sales by commodity line; employees by principal activity; and industry-specific measures, such as gallon sales and storage capacity for petroleum products.
COMPARABILITY TO THE 1992 CENSUS
The adoption of the NAICS has had a major impact on the comparability of data between the 1997 and 1992 censuses.
The Wholesale Trade sector includes most of what was classified in Wholesale Trade under the SIC system. Excluded from this sector are establishments now classified in the Retail Trade sector, which sell merchandise using facilities open to the general public. Prominent examples of these are stores selling auto parts, computers and peripheral equipment, office supplies, farm supplies, and building products and lumber yards.
In addition, this sector now includes prerecorded video tape wholesalers, previously classified in Services Industries under the SIC system.
FREQUENCY
Every 5 years since 1972, for years ending in "2" and "7." From 1929 through 1967, wholesale trade data were published periodically as part of the census of business. Data collection begins at the end of December of the census year and responses are due in about 8 weeks. Data are requested for activities taking place during the census calendar year.
METHODS
A mail-out/mail-back census of all establishments with payroll using standard and short forms that differ in scope and detail. All establishments of multi- unit firms and single-establishment firms with annualized payroll above a size cutoff (for most industries, equivalent to about 3 employees) receive a standard form. A sample of the single-unit firms below the payroll cutoff also receive the standard form. Sample firms are selected using a stratified sampling procedure with strata reflecting kind of business and selected large states and metropolitan areas. All other small employers receive a short form that does not have inquiries on sales by commodity line and employment by principal activity. The sample results are used to estimate data not contained on the short form.
PRODUCTS
Geographic Area Series reports consist of 52 volumes, one for the U.S., each state, and the District of Columbia. Reports summarize data by kind of business and type of operation for the U.S., states, metropolitan areas, and counties and places with 2,500 inhabitants or more. Sales, payroll, employment, operating expenses, and inventories are summarized for all geographic areas.
Subject Series reports consist of 4 volumes presenting special interest tabulations for the U.S. and added geographic detail for some reports. Report titles include: Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of Organization); Commodity Line Sales; Measures of Value Produced, Capital Expenditures, Depreciable Assets, and Operating Expenses; and Miscellaneous Subjects.
PRIMARY USES
The Bureau of Economic Analysis uses the data to benchmark national income and product accounts and input-output tables. The Department of Agriculture uses the data for tracking sales of farm products. The Census Bureau uses the data in sampling and benchmarking activities for current wholesale surveys.
National associations use the data for statistical and economic research, general planning, and marketing. An insurance company used counts of establishments and sales by kind of business to redesign sales territories and set quotas and incentive levels for agents.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The only comprehensive data on the geographic distribution of wholesalers; source of statistics on sales by commodity line, sales by class of customer, and key industry-specific measures; and source of data on wholesale operating types other than merchants.
Core Business Statistics Series: SIC-Based Comparative Statistics | Bridge Between NAICS and SIC
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