Guide to the
1997 Economic Census
Merchandise Line Sales, Commodity Line Sales, and Source of Receipts or Revenue reports break down the sales or receipts of each type of store by various lines, such as men's and boy's clothing, major household appliances or hardware.
Illustrative findings from Merchandise Line Sales reports for retail trade and accommodations and foodservices are highlighted in a press release.
From table 1 in the retail report one can examine what merchandise lines are sold by hardware stores; and from table 2, what kinds of stores sell hardware. Someone in the business of selling hardware to retailers would find that almost two-thirds of their potential market is not hardware stores but stores like lumber yards and department stores.
The table illustrations shown below show the broad lines recorded for all industries within retail trade and accommodation and foodservices. More detailed lines are shown, as appropriate, within particular industries in table 1 only.
Merchandise Line Sales and Commodity Line Sales data are published in PDFs with national level data, but American FactFinder and CD-ROM users are able to access line sales data also for states and metropolitan areas.
Source of Receipts or Revenue reports focus primarily at the national level, but include selected data by state in both PDF and in database files. The lines or sources of receipts or revenue shown vary industry to industry.
Line Sales reports by sector
NAICS | Sector |
21 | Mining (no report) |
22 | Utilities |
23 | Construction (no report) |
31-33 | Manufacturing (no report) |
42 | Wholesale Trade |
44-45 | Retail Trade |
48-49 | Transportation and Warehousing |
51 | Information |
52 | Finance and Insurance |
53 | Real Estate and Rental and Leasing |
54 | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services |
55 | Management of Companies and Enterprises (no report) |
56 | Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation |
61 | Educational Services |
62 | Health Care and Social Assistance |
71 | Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation |
72 | Accommodation and Food Services |
81 | Other Services (Except Public Administration |
While there are no Line Sales reports for manufacturing, mining, and construction, Industry Series reports for manufacturing and mining include detailed data by product class and product, and construction industry reports include data classified by type of construction.