Annual Wholesale Trade Survey

The Annual Wholesale Trade Survey (AWTS) is conducted each year to produce national estimates of total annual sales, e-commerce sales, end-of-year inventories, purchases, total operating expenses, gross margins, and commissions for wholesale trade activities in the US (by type of operation and industry). Additionally, in survey years ending in "2" and "7," AWTS generates detailed operating expenses estimates. Title 13 of the United States Code authorizes the Census Bureau to conduct this survey and provides for mandatory responses. Merchant wholesalers provide data on sales, e-commerce, end-of-year inventories, inventory valuation methods, inventories held outside the US, purchases, and total operating expenses. Sales tax and detailed expense items are also requested in survey years ending in "2" and "7." However, manufacturers’ sales branches and offices (MSBOs), which fall under the merchant wholesale category, do not receive questions about purchases or detailed operating expenses. Agents, brokers, and electronic markets (AGBRs) provide data on sales, sales on own account, sales made on the account of others, commissions, e-commerce, purchases, and total operating expenses. These companies are not asked to supply sales tax or detailed expense information in survey years ending in "2" and "7." The survey's target population consists of all US firms with paid employees that are primarily engaged in wholesale trade, as defined by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).