Census of Wholesale Trade Summary Files

In file WA1 data presented include the number of establishments, sales, end-of-year inventories, operating expenses, payroll, and number of paid employees. WA1 data are for states, Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs), counties, incorporated cities, town, and non-SMSA balance of state. WA2 has the same information as WA1 with additional statistics on number of establishments, sales for merchant wholesalers, manufacturers' sales outlets, and merchandise agents or brokers.

WA2 has data for regions, divisions, states, SMSAs with 2,000 or more wholesale establishments, and both counties and places with more than 5,000 inhabitants. In WA3 the data are presented by number of establishments and sales, by type of operation, and by kind of business group. These statistics are shown separately for all types of operations and for merchant wholesalers.

WA3 data are for the U.S., regions, divisions, states, and 74 SMSAs with the largest wholesale profits. WA4 has the same information as WA2 and WA3, except that data are presented by type of operation for the entire U.S. and for each of the 100 counties having the largest wholesale payrolls. WA4 data are for the U.S. and each of the 100 counties having the largest wholesale payrolls.

The type of operation by city size appears in WA5. In addition, nine data items are shown for the U.S. total, for incorporated cities by eight population size groups, and for the balance of the U.S. WA5 has a single record for the U.S. total, eight groups of incorporated cities, and the balance of the U.S. The 1977 Census of Wholesale Trade files are in two parts: Geographic Area Series and Commodity Line Sales files. The Geographic Area Series files present summary statistics for the U.S., states, SMSAs, counties, and cities.

Data are crosstabulated by kind of business categories and include the number of establishments, sales, payroll, first quarter payroll, receipts, revenue, and expenses. The Commodity Line Sales files have data for the U.S., selected states, and selected SMSAs, with data by kind of business and commodity line for wholesale trade and each type of wholesale operation. Geographic Area Statistics and Commodity Line Sales data are available from the 1982 Censuses of Wholesale Trade.

The Geographic Area Statistics files include the number of establishments, sales, payroll, and number of employees for the U.S., states, counties, and all incorporated places with 2,500 or more inhabitants. Commodity Line Sales files have data for 129 broad commodity lines with selected detail within major lines classified by kind of business.The 1987 Census of Wholesale Trade consists of three parts: Geographic Area Series statistics, Commodity Line Sales statistics, and Establishment and Firm Size data.

Geographic Area Series statistics from the 1987 Census of Wholesale Trade for nonemployers are also available. These statistics include number of establishments, sales, annual and first quarter payroll, employment, inventories, and operating expenses at the U.S., state, metropolitan area, counties, and place levels. Geographic Area Series data for nonemployers is also available.

Commodity Line Sales files show the sales of wholesale establishments with payroll by commodity line by kind of business for the U.S., the 15 largest states, and 15 largest metropolitan areas. The Establishment and Firm Size file has national statistics for wholesale establishments with payroll by kind of business cross-classified by the sales size or employment size of each establishment or firm, by the number of establishments in the firm, or by legal form of organization.The 1992 Census of Wholesale Trade summary files consist of three parts: Geographic Area Series, Commodity Line Sales, and Establishment and Firm Size Files.

The Geographic Area Series files contain statistics for 208 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) or kind of business codes for the U.S., states, counties, places, and metropolitan areas. Statistics on establishment and firm size are shown at the national level. Some Geographic Area Series data from the 1987 census is included.

Commodity Line Sales data are shown for the U.S., 15 largest states, and 15 largest metropolitan areas. Summary data include number of establishments, sales, annual and first quarter payroll, number of paid employees, inventories, operating expenses, and comparative statistics. Commodity Line Sales files contain data on the number of establishments, sales, sales of specific commodity lines, and percent of sales accounted for by specified kind of business coverage.

Establishment and Firm Size files contain establishment statistics presented by sales size and by employment size; statistics for firms, by sales size (including concentration by largest firms), by employment size, and by number of establishments operated. Statistics are presented by kind of business and type of operation on the number of establishments and sales. Merchant wholesalers, however, include data on payroll, employment, operating expense, and inventories.

This data comprises government records extracted from the Archival Research Catalog (ARC). See the ARC catalog entry for this series for more information on this data and how to order it.