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Industry Statistics Sampler
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| Definition | Data from the Economic Census | Annual, monthly data | ||||
| Employers | Nonemployers | Compare to '97 | States | Products, Size, etc. | ||
| Indus- try Detail |
NAICS code |
Description |
Estab- lish- ments |
Sales
($1,000) |
Annual payroll ($1,000) |
Paid employees |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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42 | Wholesale trade | 435,521 | 4,634,755,112 | 259,653,080 | 5,878,405 | |
| 423 | Durable goods merchant wholesalers | 260,445 | 2,171,265,591 | 157,156,665 | 3,356,985 | ||
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4231 | Mtr vehicle & parts & supplies merchant wholesalers | 26,514 | 598,717,653 | 13,548,552 | 360,928 | |
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4232 | Furniture & home furnishing merchant wholesalers | 14,133 | 71,428,120 | 6,515,745 | 163,709 | |
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4233 | Lumber & other const material merchant wholesalers | 17,845 | 115,506,859 | 9,233,842 | 228,914 | |
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4234 | Prof & commercial equip & supp merchant wholesalers | 37,416 | 406,445,349 | 41,221,694 | 710,154 | |
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4235 | Metal & mineral (exc petrol) merchant wholesalers | 10,962 | 117,454,774 | 6,561,703 | 147,703 | |
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4236 | Electrical goods merchant wholesalers | 33,306 | 322,377,337 | 29,521,935 | 509,252 | |
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4237 | Hrdwr, plumb & heat equip & supp merchant wholesalers | 19,094 | 84,577,986 | 8,763,641 | 209,741 | |
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4238 | Machinery, equipment, & supplies merchant wholesalers | 64,811 | 297,936,999 | 30,113,741 | 704,774 | |
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4239 | Miscellaneous durable goods merchant wholesalers | 36,364 | 156,820,514 | 11,675,812 | 321,810 | |
| NAICS code |
NAICS Title |
All firms | Nonemployers | Employers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Establish- ments |
Receipts ($1,000) | Establishments | Receipts |
Establish- ments |
Sales ($1,000) | |||||
| Number | % of all | $1,000 | % of all | |||||||
| 42 | Wholesale trade | 799,302 | 4,664,777,063 | 363,781 | 45.5 | 30,021,951 | 0.6 | 435,521 | 4,634,755,112 | |
| 423 | Durable goods merchant wholesalers | 454,362 | 2,188,221,869 | 193,917 | 42.7 | 16,956,278 | 0.8 | 260,445 | 2,171,265,591 | |
| 4231 | Mtr vehicle & parts & supplies merchant wholesalers | 40,965 | 600,724,780 | 14,451 | 35.3 | 2,007,127 | 0.3 | 26,514 | 598,717,653 | |
| 4232 | Furniture & home furnishing merchant wholesalers | 29,499 | 72,580,959 | 15,366 | 52.1 | 1,152,839 | 1.6 | 14,133 | 71,428,120 | |
| 4233 | Lumber & other const material merchant wholesalers | 25,288 | 116,350,945 | 7,443 | 29.4 | 844,086 | 0.7 | 17,845 | 115,506,859 | |
| 4234 | Prof & commercial equip & supp merchant wholesalers | 48,199 | 407,408,105 | 10,783 | 22.4 | 962,756 | 0.2 | 37,416 | 406,445,349 | |
| 4235 | Metal & mineral (exc petrol) merchant wholesalers | 14,199 | 117,837,864 | 3,237 | 22.8 | 383,090 | 0.3 | 10,962 | 117,454,774 | |
| 4236 | Electrical goods merchant wholesalers | 42,678 | 323,300,554 | 9,372 | 22.0 | 923,217 | 0.3 | 33,306 | 322,377,337 | |
| 4237 | Hrdwr, plumb & heat equip & supp merchant wholesalers | 24,770 | 85,099,227 | 5,676 | 22.9 | 521,241 | 0.6 | 19,094 | 84,577,986 | |
| 4238 | Machinery, equipment, & supplies merchant wholesalers | 86,291 | 300,304,536 | 21,480 | 24.9 | 2,367,537 | 0.8 | 64,811 | 297,936,999 | |
| 4239 | Miscellaneous durable goods merchant wholesalers | 142,473 | 164,614,899 | 106,109 | 74.5 | 7,794,385 | 4.7 | 36,364 | 156,820,514 | |
Industries in the Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods subsector sell capital or durable goods to other businesses. Merchant wholesalers generally take title to the goods that they sell; in other words, they buy and sell goods on their own account. Durable goods are new or used items generally with a normal life expectancy of three years or more. Durable goods merchant wholesale trade establishments are engaged in wholesaling products, such as motor vehicles, furniture, construction materials, machinery and equipment (including household-type appliances), metals and minerals (except petroleum), sporting goods, toys and hobby goods, recyclable materials, and parts.
Business-to-business electronic markets, agents, and brokers primarily engaged in wholesaling durable goods, generally on a commission or fee basis, are classified in Subsector 425, Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers.
NAICS
423, Durable goods merchant wholesalers,
is not comparable to 1997 NAICS 421 Wholesale trade, durable goods.
See the Bridge Between 2002 NAICS and 1997 NAICS for changes to constituent industries.
For comparisons with data before 1997, see the Bridge Between 1997 NAICS and 1987 SIC.
| See maps in Industry Snapshot |
|
Data for the Wholesale trade sector are published for the U.S., states, metropolitan areas, counties, and places.




















































| Product code | Product description | Sales of this line ($000) |
Percent of industry sales (%) |
Graph |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10000 | Industry total | 2,171,265, | 100.00 | |
| 10100 | New and used automobiles, motorcycles, and trailers | 312,684,71 | 14.40 | |
| 10920 | New computer equipment | 187,111,93 | 8.62 | |
| 10130 | Light trucks and truck bodies, 14,000 lb or less | 123,985,27 | 5.71 | |
| -Other | 1,547,483, | 71.27 |
For more product detail, see the AFF links below for Product Lines
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AFF icons link to tables in American FactFinder, which supports further manipulation
and downloading. |
|
| Hypertext Tables | Title (with link to data) | Frequency | Contents | Geography |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Benchmark Report for Wholesale Trade | Annual | Monthly sales and inventories back to 1992 | US | |
| Annual Capital Expenditures Survey | Annual | Capital expenditures for structures and equipment for companies with paid employees | US | |
| County Business Patterns | Annual | Employees; payroll; number of establishments by employment size of establishment | US, states, metro areas, counties | |
| E-Commerce Statistics | Annual | Total sales and e-commerce sales, receipts or value of shipments | US | |
| Monthly Wholesale Trade | Monthly | Monthly sales, inventories, and inventory/sales ratios for merchant wholesalers | US | |
| Nonemployer Statistics | Annual | Number of establishments and sales of firms with no paid employees | US, states, metro areas, counties |
| Statistics of U.S. Businesses | Annual | Number of firms, employees, payroll, (and revenue, for 2002 only) by employment-size of the enterprise | US, states, metro areas |
For more data sets, check a broader NAICS category, such as NAICS 42 ![]() |
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