Summary of Findings


The United States had 495,457 wholesale establishments in 1992 with $3.2 
trillion in sales. This represents a 5.5 percent increase in wholesale 
establishments and a 29.6 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 83.7 percent or 414,836 of the total 
establishments and 57.2 percent or $1.9 trillion of the total sales in 
1992 compared with 83.3 percent of the establishments and 58.3 percent 
of the sales in 1987. Manufacturers' sales branches and offices with 
35,953 establishments and $1.0 trillion in sales and agents, brokers, and 
commission merchants with 44,668 establishments and $351.5 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 $278.9 billion 
followed by petroleum bulk stations and terminals with $167.7 billion and 
groceries and related products, n.e.c., wholesalers with $146.6 billion. 
Out of 69 kind of business groups, these three accounted for 18.3 percent 
of the total sales in the United States.

Annual payroll for all wholesalers in the United States was up from $133.4 
billion in 1987 to $173.3 billion in 1992. Merchant wholesalers had annual 
payroll of $128.0 billion in 1992 while manufacturers' sales branches and 
offices recorded $36.7 billion and agents, brokers, and commission merchants 
had $8.6 billion.                                                             

Employment by all wholesalers in The United States as of mid-March 1992 
was 5,791,401, an increase of 3.5 percent since 1987. Merchant wholesalers 
with 4,588,014 employees accounted for 79.2 percent of the total wholesale 
employment in 1992 compared with 80.0 percent in 1987.

Inventories of $213.4 billion were held at wholesale establishments in 
the United States at the end of 1992. Merchant wholesalers held 83.4 
percent of these inventories while manufacturers' sales branches and sales 
offices held 16.3 percent and agent, brokers, and commission merchants 
held .4 percent. Inventories of all wholesalers increased during 1992 by
3.3 percent while those of merchant wholesalers increased 4.0 percent.

Payroll per employee in the United States averaged $29.9 thousand for all 
wholesalers in 1992, an increase of 25.5 percent since 1987. Merchant 
wholesalers averaged $27.9 thousand per employee while manufacturers' 
sales branches and offices was $39.2 thousand and agents, brokers, and 
commission merchants were $32.1 thousand in 1992.

Annual payroll as a percent of operating expenses for all wholesalers 
increased from 47.5 percent in 1987 to 48.4 percent in 1992. The ratio for 
merchant wholesalers was 48.3 percent; for manufacturers' sales branches 
and offices it was 47.7 percent; and for agents, brokers and commission 
merchants it was 52.7 percent.