Summary of Findings


The District of Columbia had 499 wholesale establishments in 1992
with $3.3 billion in sales. This represents a 9.9 percent decrease in
wholesale establishments and a 16.2 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 82.0 percent or 409 of the total
establishments and 48.3 percent or $1.6 billion of the total sales in
1992 compared with 84.5 percent of the establishments and 55.5 percent
of the sales in 1987. Manufacturers' sales branches and offices with 58
establishments and $1.6 billion in sales and agents, brokers, and
commission merchants with 32 establishments and $70.9 million in sales
made up the rest of the wholesale trade total in 1992. 

Computers and computer peripheral equipment and software wholesalers
were the largest group of wholesalers by kind of business in terms of
sales with $390.5 million followed by books, periodicals, and
newspapers wholesalers with $252.2 million and furniture wholesalers
with $222.3 million. Out of 69 kind of business groups, these three
accounted for 26.1 percent of the total sales in the District. 

Annual payroll for all wholesalers in the District was down from $231.6
million in 1987 to $231.2 million in 1992. Merchant wholesalers had
annual payroll of $149.3 million in 1992 while manufacturers' sales
branches and offices recorded $78.6 million and agents, brokers, and
commission merchants had $3.3 million. 

Employment by all wholesalers in The District of Columbia as of
mid-March 1992 was 6,568, a decrease of 25.8 percent since 1987.
Merchant wholesalers with 4,916 employees accounted for 74.8 percent of
the total wholesale employment in 1992 compared with 74.1 percent in
1987. 

Inventories of $154.1 million were held at wholesale establishments in
the District at the end of 1992. Merchant wholesalers held 83.3 percent
of these inventories while manufacturers' sales branches and sales
offices held 16.7 percent. Inventories of all wholesalers increased
during 1992 by 9.0 percent while those of merchant wholesalers
increased 10.1 percent. 

Payroll per employee in the District averaged $35.2 thousand for all
wholesalers in 1992, an increase of 34.6 percent since 1987. Merchant
wholesalers averaged $30.4 thousand per employee while manufacturers'
sales branches and offices was $51.0 thousand and agents, brokers, and
commission merchants were $29.3 thousand in 1992. 

Annual payroll as a percent of operating expenses for all wholesalers
decreased from 53.6 percent in 1987 to 48.7 percent in 1992. The ratio
for merchant wholesalers was 53.9 percent; for manufacturers' sales
branches and offices it was 41.1 percent; and for agents, brokers and
commission merchants it was 50.3 percent.