US Wholesale Sector
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 699,324 merchant wholesalers in the US purchase goods from suppliers and sell a mix of those goods to customers. Major customer segments include manufacturers, other distributors, retailers, exporters, institutions (i.e. schools and hospitals), and service providers (i.e. restaurants and hotels). Wholesalers are also known as wholesale merchants, distributors, jobbers, drop-shippers, or import/export merchants.
Competing with Suppliers
The traditional flow of goods from manufacturer to wholesaler and then to retailer or service provider is beginning to break down.
Expansion Pressure
Rapid growth in e-commerce and consumer demand for faster order fulfillment are putting pressure on wholesalers to set up distribution facilities closer to major customers and carry a wider range of goods.
Industry size & Structure
The wholesale sector is comprised of 699,324 establishments that employ 6.1 million workers and generate $7.8 trillion in annual revenue, according to government sources.
- The wholesale sector represents 6% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
- The sector is fragmented with the 20 largest firms representing just 18.6% of revenue.
- In addition to employer establishments, the wholesale sector has 393,682 owner-operated establishments with no employees. Subsectors with the highest numbers of nonemployer establishments are ecommerce wholesalers, agents and brokers (16.8%), grocery wholesalers (7%); apparel, piece goods, and notions wholesalers (6.5%); machinery, equipment, and supplies wholesalers (4.3%) and motor vehicle (4.2%); these firms typically perform the work and may outsource support functions like marketing and accounting.
- While the wholesale sector shed about 56,000 establishments in 2022, it also added about 56,000 new establishments that year.
- The wholesale sector is forecast to grow its employment base by 2.4% overall in 2021-2031, which is much lower than the national average of 5.3% for all jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Industry Forecast
US Wholesale Sector Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Oct 17, 2024 - Prices Mixed for Major Wholesale Segments
- According to the Consumer Price Index by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), prices for major wholesale segments were mixed in September 2024 compared to the previous year. Prices for food at home were up 1.3% in September 2024 compared to a year ago and were up 0.4% compared to the previous month. Prescription drugs were up 2.2% in September compared to a year ago and were down 0.5% from the previous month. Meanwhile, gasoline prices fell 15.3% in September 2024 compared to a year ago and were down 5.1% from the previous month. Employment by wholesalers grew 1% in August 2024 compared to a year ago, according to the BLS. Average wages for nonsupervisory employees at wholesalers rose 2.1% in August 2024, reaching $31.17 per hour.
- The US wholesale industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.4% between 2024 and 2028, according to a forecast from Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. The expected growth rate is comparable to the overall economy‘s anticipated growth. The report noted that retail and wholesale trade sectors are driven by consumer spending along with business and government expenditures. Consumer confidence is expected to improve in the forecast period, which bodes well for the retail and wholesale industries. Factors that continue to limit consumer spending are lower consumer sentiment levels, higher interest levels, and elevated price levels. On a positive note, inflation is subsiding, which supports a moderate increase of real disposable income by about 1.9% in 2024 and 2.4% in 2025. Production and distribution systems have improved with many imbalances diminishing, according to the forecast.
- Imports bound for the US grew 14% in July 2024 compared to a year ago, increasing for the 11th consecutive month, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence report in Logistics Management. The 14% gain was the highest year-over-year growth rate since March when imports grew 16%. Import segments with the highest growth in July were information technology and consumer discretionary goods, with growth of 20% and 17%, respectively. According to the report, industrial imports were somewhat slower, likely linked to slower manufacturing activity. Many consumer industries have been aggressively shipping items early to bypass any potential challenges later in the year, which may contribute to a slowdown in growth rates later this year. According to an interview with S&P’s Chris Rogers, “If you look at consumer durables, they were up 11% compared to June, whereas normally you would see an increase in the 2%-to-4% range. That, to me, is a very clear sign of early shipping and also a more conservative outlook. It seems like everyone has finally learned the lessons of the past. That is particularly good if you are on the West Coast and shipping consumer goods.”
- US retailers are moving up their overseas orders to avoid potential shipping disruptions later in the year during peak shopping season, according to the Wall Street Journal. Import containers of clothing, furniture, and other products are arriving at US ports in much larger numbers than normal as companies try to manage higher freight rates, geopolitical tensions, and shipping delays. Import volumes at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports in June 2024 reached their strongest level since the pandemic-related heights of July 2022. In addition, container rates have reached levels not seen since the pandemic. The short-term contract rate to ship a container from Asia to the US West Coast on July 17 was $7,806, four times greater than last year, according to transportation analytics firm Xeneta. The WSJ report noted that the ratio of inventories to sales at US retailers increased to 1.31 in May 2024, the highest level since May 2020. Importers are counting on consumers to increase their spending in the second half of the year to avoid being stuck with excess inventories.
Get A Demo
Vertical IQ’s Industry Intelligence Platform
See for yourself why over 60,000 users trust Vertical IQ for their industry research and call preparation needs. Our easy-to-digest industry insights save call preparation time and help differentiate you from the competition.
Build valuable, lasting relationships by having smarter conversations -
check out Vertical IQ today.