Summary of Findings

New Mexico had 2,515 wholesale establishments in 1992 with $6.3
billion in sales. This represents a 4.9 percent increase in wholesale
establishments and a 22.8 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 86.6 percent or 2,178 of the total
establishments and 72.3 percent or $4.5 billion of the total sales in
1992 compared with 86.6 percent of the establishments and 76.3 percent
of the sales in 1987. Manufacturers' sales branches and offices with
194 establishments and $976.9 million in sales and agents, brokers, and
commission merchants with 143 establishments and $761.2 million in
sales made up the rest of the wholesale trade total in 1992. 

Petroleum bulk stations and terminals were the largest group of
wholesalers by kind of business in terms of sales with $813.3 million
followed by automobiles and other motor vehicles wholesalers with
$333.2 million and computers and computer peripheral equipment and
software wholesalers with $316.8 million. Out of 69 kind of business
groups, these three accounted for 23.4 percent of the total sales in
the State. 

Annual payroll for all wholesalers in the State was up from $421.8
million in 1987 to $513.5 million in 1992. Merchant wholesalers had
annual payroll of $410.1 million in 1992 while manufacturers' sales
branches and offices recorded $86.3 million and agents, brokers, and
commission merchants had $17.1 million. 

Employment by all wholesalers in New Mexico as of mid-March 1992 was
22,603, an increase of 2.1 percent since 1987. Merchant wholesalers
with 19,122 employees accounted for 84.6 percent of the total wholesale
employment in 1992 compared with 86.3 percent in 1987. 

Inventories of $521.3 million were held at wholesale establishments in
the State at the end of 1992. Merchant wholesalers held 90.9 percent of
these inventories while manufacturers' sales branches and sales offices
held 8.9 percent and agent, brokers, and commission merchants held .3
percent. Inventories of all wholesalers increased during 1992 by .1
percent while those of merchant wholesalers increased .3 percent. 

Payroll per employee in the State averaged $22.7 thousand for all
wholesalers in 1992, an increase of 19.2 percent since 1987. Merchant
wholesalers averaged $21.4 thousand per employee while manufacturers'
sales branches and offices was $32.9 thousand and agents, brokers, and
commission merchants were $20.0 thousand in 1992. 

Annual payroll as a percent of operating expenses for all wholesalers
increased from 49.7 percent in 1987 to 49.8 percent in 1992. The ratio
for merchant wholesalers was 49.7 percent; for manufacturers' sales
branches and offices it was 50.6 percent; and for agents, brokers and
commission merchants it was 49.1 percent.