Industrial Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
Description
This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of supplies for machinery and equipment generally used in manufacturing, oil well, and warehousing activities. Illustrative Examples: Industrial containers merchant wholesalers Industrial diamonds merchant wholesalers Printing inks merchant wholesalers Industrial sand merchant wholesalers Refractory materials (e.g., brick, blocks, shapes) merchant wholesalers Welding supplies (except welding gases) merchant wholesalers
Hierarchy
| Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 42 | Wholesale Trade 2-digit sector | The Sector as a Whole The Wholesale Trade sector comprises establishments engaged in wholesaling merchandise, generally without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise. The merchandise described in this sector includes the outputs of agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and certain information industries, such as publishing. The wholesaling process is an intermediate step in the distribution of merchandise. Wholesalers are organized to sell or arrange the purchase or sale of (a) goods for resale (i.e., goods sold to other wholesalers or retailers), (b) capital or durable nonconsumer goods, and (c) raw and intermediate materials and supplies used in production. Wholesalers sell merchandise to other businesses and normally operate from a warehouse or office. These warehouses and offices are characterized by having little or no display of merchandise. In addition, neither the design nor the location of the premises is intended to solicit walk-in traffic. Wholesalers do not normally use advertising directed to the general public. Customers are generally reached initially via telephone, in-person marketing, or by specialized advertising that may include Internet and other electronic means. Follow-up orders are either vendor-initiated or client-initiated, generally based on previous sales, and typically exhibit strong ties between sellers and buyers. In fact, transactions are often conducted between wholesalers and clients that have long-standing business relationships. This sector comprises two main types of wholesalers: merchant wholesalers that sell goods on their own account and agents and brokers that arrange sales and purchases for others generally for a commission or fee. (1) Establishments that sell goods on their own account are known as wholesale merchants, distributors, jobbers, drop shippers, and import/export merchants. Also included as wholesale merchants are sales offices and sales branches (but not retail stores) maintained by manufacturing, refining, or mining enterprises apart from their plants or mines for the purpose of marketing their products, and group purchasing organizations primarily purchasing and selling goods on their own account. Merchant wholesale establishments typically maintain their own warehouse, where they receive and handle goods for their customers. Goods are generally sold without transformation, but may include integral functions, such as sorting, packaging, labeling, and other marketing services. (2) Establishments arranging for the purchase or sale of goods owned by others or purchasing goods, generally on a commission basis are known as business-to-business electronic markets, agents and brokers, commission merchants, import/export agents and brokers, auction companies, group purchasing organizations (acting as agents), and manufacturers' representatives. These establishments operate from offices and generally do not own or handle the goods they sell. Some wholesale establishments may be connected with a single manufacturer and promote and sell the particular manufacturer's products to a wide range of other wholesalers or retailers. Other wholesalers may be connected to a retail chain, or limited number of retail chains, and only provide a variety of products needed by that particular retail operation(s). These wholesalers may obtain the products from a wide range of manufacturers. Still other wholesalers may not take title to the goods, but act as agents and brokers for a commission. Although, in general, wholesaling normally denotes sales in large volumes, durable nonconsumer goods may be sold in single units. Sales of capital or durable nonconsumer goods used in the production of goods and services, such as farm machinery, medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and industrial machinery, are always included in wholesale trade. |
| 423 | Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods 3-digit subsector | Industries in the Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods subsector sell capital or durable goods to other businesses. Merchant wholesalers generally take title to the goods that they sell; in other words, they buy and sell goods on their own account. Durable goods are new or used items generally with a normal life expectancy of three years or more. Durable goods merchant wholesale trade establishments are engaged in wholesaling products, such as motor vehicles, furniture, construction materials, machinery and equipment (including household-type appliances), metals and minerals (except petroleum), sporting goods, toys and hobby goods, recyclable materials, and parts. Agents and brokers primarily engaged in wholesaling durable goods, generally on a commission or fee basis, are classified in Subsector 425, Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers. |
| 4238 | Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers 4-digit industry group | This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of construction, mining, farm, garden, industrial, service establishment, and transportation machinery, equipment, and supplies. |
| 42384 | Industrial Supplies Merchant Wholesalers 5-digit NAICS industry | See industry description for 423840. |
| 423840 | Industrial Supplies Merchant Wholesalers 6-digit U.S. detail | This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of supplies for machinery and equipment generally used in manufacturing, oil well, and warehousing activities. Illustrative Examples: Industrial containers merchant wholesalers Industrial diamonds merchant wholesalers Printing inks merchant wholesalers Industrial sand merchant wholesalers Refractory materials (e.g., brick, blocks, shapes) merchant wholesalers Welding supplies (except welding gases) merchant wholesalers |
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Classification References
- 01Merchant wholesale distribution of hydraulic and pneumatic (fluid power) pumps, motors, pistons, and valves--are classified in Industry 423830, Industrial Machinery and Equipment Merchant Wholesalers; and
- 02Merchant wholesale distribution of welding gases and other industrial gases--are classified in Industry 424690, Other Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers.
Index Items
Abrasives merchant wholesalers
Barrels, new and reconditioned, merchant wholesalers
Bearings merchant wholesalers
Belting, industrial, merchant wholesalers
Bottles (except waste) merchant wholesalers
Box shooks merchant wholesalers
Boxes and crates, industrial (except disposable plastics, paperboard, waste), merchant wholesalers
Brushes, industrial, merchant wholesalers
Canning supplies merchant wholesalers
Cartons (except paper and paperboard) merchant wholesalers
Closures, industrial, merchant wholesalers
Containers, industrial, merchant wholesalers
Cooperage stock merchant wholesalers
Cordage merchant wholesalers
Cork merchant wholesalers
Crowns and closures, metal, merchant wholesalers
Diamonds, industrial, merchant wholesalers
Drives and gears merchant wholesalers
Drums, new and reconditioned, merchant wholesalers
Excelsior (e.g., pads, wrappers) merchant wholesalers
Fire hydrants merchant wholesalers
Fittings, industrial, merchant wholesalers
Gaskets merchant wholesalers
Gears merchant wholesalers
General-line industrial supplies merchant wholesalers
Grommets merchant wholesalers
Hose, industrial, merchant wholesalers
Industrial containers merchant wholesalers
Industrial diamonds merchant wholesalers
Industrial leather products merchant wholesalers
Industrial pottery products merchant wholesalers
Industrial supplies (except disposable plastics, paper) merchant wholesalers
Inks, printing, merchant wholesalers
Lapidary equipment, industrial, merchant wholesalers
Mechanical power transmission supplies (e.g., gears, pulleys, sprockets) merchant wholesalers
Mechanical rubber goods merchant wholesalers
Mill supplies merchant wholesalers
Packaging materials merchant wholesalers
Packing materials merchant wholesalers
Pipe fittings and valves (except plumbing) merchant wholesalers
Pistons and valves, industrial, merchant wholesalers
Plastics foam packing and packaging materials merchant wholesalers
Power transmission supplies (e.g., gears, pulleys, sprockets), mechanical, merchant wholesalers
Printing inks merchant wholesalers
Reconditioned barrels and drums merchant wholesalers
Refractory materials (e.g., block, brick, mortar, tile) merchant wholesalers
Ropes (except wire rope) merchant wholesalers
Rubber goods, mechanical (i.e., extruded, lathe-cut, molded), merchant wholesalers
Sand, industrial, merchant wholesalers
Seals merchant wholesalers
Shipping containers (except disposable plastics, paper) merchant wholesalers
Shipping pails, metal, merchant wholesalers
Speed changers merchant wholesalers
Sprockets merchant wholesalers
Thread, industrial, merchant wholesalers
Towels, industrial, merchant wholesalers
Twine merchant wholesalers
Valves (except hydraulic, plumbing, pneumatic) merchant wholesalers
Welding supplies (except welding gases) merchant wholesalers
Wiping cloths merchant wholesalers
How Item Can Help
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External Resources
Census.gov NAICS Detail
Official US Census Bureau definition and scope for NAICS 423840.
Association of Industrial Supply Distributors
A US trade association dedicated to industrial supply distributors and their members.
NAICS 423840 Definition - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
The official U.S. government page defining the industrial supplies wholesale industry within the NAICS system.
Wholesale.com - Industrial Supplies Directory
An online industry directory connecting buyers with wholesale industrial supply merchants across the United States.
