Archive:Consumer goods wholesale trade statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
This Statistics Explained article is outdated and has been archived - for recent articles on structural business statistics see here.
- Data from January 2009. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
This article belongs to a set of statistical articles which analyse the structure, development and characteristics of the various economic activities in the European Union (EU). According to the statistical classification of economic activities in the EU (NACE Rev 1.1), the present article covers consumer goods wholesale trade, corresponding to NACE Groups 51.3 and 51.4, which are part of the wholesale trade sector. The activities covered in this article are the wholesaling of:
- food, beverages and tobacco, corresponding to NACE Group 51.3;
- household products such as textiles, clothing, electrical appliances, games, toys, tableware, furniture and furnishings, as well as cleaning products and personal products, corresponding to NACE Group 51.4.
It should be noted that although these two categories are grouped together here as consumer goods, these activities also include the wholesaling of food and beverage products as inputs for further processing.
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Main statistical findings
Structural profile
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The 549.9 thousand enterprises with wholesaling of consumer goods (NACE Groups 51.3 and 51.4) as their main activity generated EUR 1 741 billion of turnover in the EU-27 in 2006, representing 37.8 % of the wholesale trade (NACE Division 51) total. With EUR 205.9 billion of value added this was the largest of the wholesale trade sub-sectors, with a 39.7 % share of wholesale value added. However, its contribution to wholesale trade employment was even higher (41.9 %) as there were 4.2 million persons employed in the EU-27’s consumer goods wholesaling sector.
The wholesale of household goods (NACE Group 51.4) was the larger of the two NACE groups in this sector, with more than half of the sector's employment and turnover and just over three fifths of its value added; the wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco (NACE Group 51.3) recorded the smaller share for all three indicators.
None of the larger Member States particularly dominated this sector within the EU-27, Germany registering the largest shares of turnover (17.8 %) and value added (17.7 %), and Spain the biggest share of the workforce (14.6 %). Greece was the most specialised Member State [1]in this sector, as the wholesaling of consumer goods contributed 7.7 % of value added generated within the Greek non-financial business economy (NACE Sections C to I and K).
Annualised short-term statistics are available for an analysis of the evolution of turnover indices for consumer goods wholesaling, for each of the two NACE groups that compose this sector. The EU-27 turnover index registered gains for both of these activities in every year for which data is available, with fairly stable growth recorded for both activities, ranging between 2.2 % and 8.8 %. However in the last few years (2004 to 2007) these two activities both recorded growth below the average for wholesale trade, with food, beverages and tobacco wholesaling recording the slowest growth each year.
Expenditure and productivity
The expenditure structure of the EU-27’s wholesaling of consumer goods sector was typical for a wholesale trade activity, but there were some notable differences between the two main parts of the consumer goods wholesaling sector. The level of investment in the sector reached EUR 20.1 billion in 2006, equivalent to 9.8 % of value added, and just below the wholesale trade average of 10.2 %. The investment rate was lower for the wholesaling of household goods (8.3 %), while the corresponding rate for the wholesaling of food, beverages and tobacco was 12.3 % (above the wholesale trade average). At a further level of detail, the highest investment rate was recorded for the wholesaling of fruit and vegetables (NACE Class 51.31), at 14.5 %, while the lowest was for tobacco products wholesaling (NACE Class 51.35, 7.0 %).
Apparent labour productivity for consumer goods wholesaling was EUR 49.3 thousand per person employed in the EU-27 in 2006 and average personnel costs were EUR 30.6 thousand per employee, both figures standing below the wholesale trade average. There were significant differences between the two subsectors, as the values recorded for the wholesaling of household goods were more than one third higher (for both indicators) than those recorded for the wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco. The wholesale of pharmaceutical goods (NACE Class 51.46) recorded the highest apparent labour productivity figure (EUR 83.8 thousand per person employed) and average personnel costs (EUR 47.8 thousand per employee), while the wholesale of fruit and vegetables recorded the lowest levels, EUR 32.9 thousand per person employed and EUR 22.9 thousand per employee respectively.
The wage-adjusted labour productivity rate for the EU-27 was slightly higher in the wholesaling of consumer goods (161.1 %) than for the wholesale trade sector (159.8 %). At a detailed level of activity quite a range of productivity levels were recorded within this sector. The highest rate, 220.8 %, was recorded for the wholesaling of coffee, tea, cocoa and spices (NACE Class 51.37), some way ahead of the 181.2 % for the wholesaling of beverages (NACE Class 51.34). None of the activities recorded particularly low ratios, the lowest being 143.6 % for the wholesale of fruit and vegetables.
Data sources and availability
The main part of the analysis in this article is derived from structural business statistics (SBS), including core, business statistics which are disseminated regularly, as well as information compiled on a multi-yearly basis, and the latest results from development projects.
Other data sources include short-term statistics (STS).
Context
The activities in NACE Division 51 cover all wholesale trade except that concerning motor vehicles and motorcycles (see Fuel retail and service station statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1): the wholesaling of automotive fuel is considered as a wholesale trade rather than a motor trade. This article covers resale (sale without transformation) of new and used products, as well as wholesale activities carried out on a fee or contract basis.
The wholesaling activity consists of selling to retailers or to industrial, commercial, institutional and professional users. Wholesalers can act on a fee or contract basis as agents or for their own account, buying and selling goods. The own-account wholesale sub-sectors distinguish the types of product in which the wholesaler is specialised (agricultural products, consumer goods (this article), intermediate goods, machinery and equipment), while specialised wholesalers of other products are included in non-specialised wholesalers.
In the supply chain, wholesalers are located between producers and users, providing know-how and knowledge in markets for which they have expertise. Competition within the wholesale trade activity is often centred on providing more efficient services or more sophisticated value added services. Wholesalers can provide a range of services from basic storage and break of bulk, sorting, grading and logistics to pre- and post-production operations (for instance, labelling, packaging, bottling and installation).
Further Eurostat information
Publications
- European Business: Facts and figures - 2009 edition
Main tables
Database
Dedicated section
See also
- Consumer prices - inflation and comparative price levels
- Extra-euro area trade in goods
- International trade in goods
Notes
- ↑ Bulgaria, Cyprus, Poland and Romania, 2005; Malta and the Netherlands, not available.