Census Bureau Releases a Collection of Wholesale Trade Statistics

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released a collection of statistics on the wholesale trade sector of the economy, completing the 2012 Economic Census Industry Series, beginning the 2012 Economic Census Geographic Area Series, and releasing the 2013 Annual Wholesale Trade Report.

Preliminary statistics from the 2012 Economic Census show the sector had sales of $7.8 trillion, up 20.0 percent from the final published total of $6.5 trillion from the 2007 Economic Census. The number of establishments declined, however, from 434,983 in 2007 to 420,014 in 2012. According to estimates from the Annual Wholesale Trade Report, sales increased  3.0 percent from $7.8 trillion in 2012 to $8.0 trillion in 2013. This report presents data from merchant wholesalers of durable and nondurable goods, including manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, as well as agents and brokers.

Other findings:

Economic Indicator Search Tool

The Census Bureau has introduced a new, user-friendly Internet tool that takes all the guesswork out of finding, downloading and using data from economic indicators. For the first time, users can access data from multiple indicators in one place and all in the same format. This tool provides an easy way to create data tables in ASCII text or time series charts in your favorite spreadsheet format. Users can select an indicator and choose data by item, time period and other dimensions using drop-down menus. Of the Census Bureau's 12 economic indicators, four are operational in the new tool now — international trade, manufactures' shipments, monthly wholesale trade and quarterly services; the remainder are expected to be available in this database throughout the course of 2011. See also a blog on this tool.

New Census Bureau Economic Series Releases

2007 Economic Census: Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Industry Series

2007 Economic Census: Construction Industry Series

2007 Business Expenses for Wholesale and Retail Trades