Monthly & Annual Wholesale Trade

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Annual Overview

Purpose:

• To provide detailed industry measures of sales and inventories for wholesale trade activities.
• Title 13 of the United States Code authorizes the Census Bureau to conduct this survey and provides for mandatory responses.

Content: Merchant wholesalers and manufacturers' sales branches and offices (MSBOs) provide estimates on annual sales, end-of-year inventories, inventory valuation, purchases, operating expenses and e-commerce data. The AWTS also began collecting sales, commissions, and operating expenses data for agents, brokers, and electronic markets (AGBRs) in 2005.

Uses of Annual Wholesale Trade Data:

• The Bureau of Economic Analysis uses the estimates as an input to estimate sales and inventories for the Gross Domestic Product.
• The Council of Economic Advisers uses the estimates for assessing near term economic activity.
• The Department of the Treasury uses the estimates to research economic trends.
• Business and industry groups use the estimates to forecast future demand.
• Researchers use the estimates to benchmark the results from their own sampling operations.
• Manufacturers can use inventory estimates as a proxy for the distributors confidence for future expected sales.

Products: Estimates are released in the first quarter of each year. These estimates are benchmarked to the most recent Economic Census of Wholesale Trade.

Coverage: Companies with employment that are primarily engaged in wholesale trade in the U.S., including MSBOs and agents, brokers, and electronic markets.