Summary of Findings


Connecticut had 6,262 wholesale establishments in 1992 with $78.3
billion in sales. This represents a 2.0 percent increase in wholesale
establishments and a 59.1 percent increase in sales over 1987 according
to the 1992 Census of Wholesale Trade conducted by the Bureau of the
Census, U.S. Department of Commerce. 

Merchant wholesalers accounted for 82.2 percent or 5,146 of the total
establishments and 75.6 percent or $59.3 billion of the total sales in
1992 compared with 81.0 percent of the establishments and 66.9 percent
of the sales in 1987. Manufacturers' sales branches and offices with
463 establishments and $13.9 billion in sales and agents, brokers, and
commission merchants with 653 establishments and $5.2 billion in sales
made up the rest of the wholesale trade total in 1992. 

Jewelry, watches, precious stones, and precious metals wholesalers were
the largest group of wholesalers by kind of business in terms of sales
with $18.4 billion followed by petroleum products wholesalers except
bulk stations and terminals with $12.9 billion and petroleum bulk
stations and terminals with $2.9 billion. Out of 69 kind of business
groups, these three accounted for 43.6 percent of the total sales in
the State. 

Annual payroll for all wholesalers in the State was up from $2.4
billion in 1987 to $3.2 billion in 1992. Merchant wholesalers had
annual payroll of $2.1 billion in 1992 while manufacturers' sales
branches and offices recorded $952.3 million and agents, brokers, and
commission merchants had $133.0 million. 

Employment by all wholesalers in Connecticut as of mid-March 1992 was
77,114, a decrease of 9.0 percent since 1987. Merchant wholesalers with
59,782 employees accounted for 77.5 percent of the total wholesale
employment in 1992 compared with 77.8 percent in 1987. 

Inventories of $3.5 billion were held at wholesale establishments in
the State at the end of 1992. Merchant wholesalers held 80.5 percent of
these inventories while manufacturers' sales branches and sales offices
held 19.2 percent and agent, brokers, and commission merchants held .3
percent. Inventories of all wholesalers decreased during 1992 by 4.2
percent while those of merchant wholesalers decreased 5.4 percent. 

Payroll per employee in the State averaged $41.5 thousand for all
wholesalers in 1992, an increase of 47.4 percent since 1987. Merchant
wholesalers averaged $35.4 thousand per employee while manufacturers'
sales branches and offices was $65.4 thousand and agents, brokers, and
commission merchants were $47.9 thousand in 1992. 

Annual payroll as a percent of operating expenses for all wholesalers
increased from 48.4 percent in 1987 to 51.3 percent in 1992. The ratio
for merchant wholesalers was 48.6 percent; for manufacturers' sales
branches and offices it was 58.0 percent; and for agents, brokers and
commission merchants it was 54.7 percent.