Summary of Findings


Tennessee had 9,341 wholesale establishments in 1992 with $59.7
billion in sales. This represents a 6.4 percent increase in wholesale
establishments and a 23.6 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 82.8 percent or 7,731 of the total
establishments and 53.1 percent or $31.7 billion of the total sales in
1992 compared with 82.4 percent of the establishments and 53.2 percent
of the sales in 1987. Manufacturers' sales branches and offices with
799 establishments and $21.7 billion in sales and agents, brokers, and
commission merchants with 811 establishments and $6.3 billion in sales
made up the rest of the wholesale trade total in 1992. 

Automobiles and other motor vehicles wholesalers were the largest group
of wholesalers by kind of business in terms of sales with $6.4 billion
followed by chemicals and allied products, n.e.c., wholesalers with
$3.6 billion and drugs, drug proprietaries, and druggists' sundries
wholesalers with $3.6 billion. Out of 69 kind of business groups, these
three accounted for 22.9 percent of the total sales in the State. 

Annual payroll for all wholesalers in the State was up from $2.5
billion in 1987 to $3.1 billion in 1992. Merchant wholesalers had
annual payroll of $2.3 billion in 1992 while manufacturers' sales
branches and offices recorded $584.7 million and agents, brokers, and
commission merchants had $137.8 million. 

Employment by all wholesalers in Tennessee as of mid-March 1992 was
115,416, a decrease of .4 percent since 1987. Merchant wholesalers with
93,017 employees accounted for 80.6 percent of the total wholesale
employment in 1992 compared with 80.4 percent in 1987. 

Inventories of $4.6 billion were held at wholesale establishments in
the State at the end of 1992. Merchant wholesalers held 85.9 percent of
these inventories while manufacturers' sales branches and sales offices
held 13.9 percent and agent, brokers, and commission merchants held .2
percent. Inventories of all wholesalers increased during 1992 by 9.3
percent while those of merchant wholesalers increased 10.9 percent. 

Payroll per employee in the State averaged $26.5 thousand for all
wholesalers in 1992, an increase of 22.2 percent since 1987. Merchant
wholesalers averaged $25.2 thousand per employee while manufacturers'
sales branches and offices was $34.1 thousand and agents, brokers, and
commission merchants were $26.2 thousand in 1992. 

Annual payroll as a percent of operating expenses for all wholesalers
increased from 48.7 percent in 1987 to 49.1 percent in 1992. The ratio
for merchant wholesalers was 50.8 percent; for manufacturers' sales
branches and offices it was 42.7 percent; and for agents, brokers and
commission merchants it was 53.2 percent.