Chapter2. Wholesale Industry

1. The wholesale industry of the city had 14,551 business establishments, 172,148 persons engaged and annual sales of 24.7976 trillion yen as of June 1, 2004. In the long term, the national share of the city's wholesale industry (in sales) has been declining from a peak of 8.7% in 1997 to 6.1% in 2004. With the Osaka City following the same trend, the wholesale industry continues to concentrate in the central Tokyo area.
   
   
2. In 2004, the national share of the wholesale industry in the city in annual sales by type of business showed that mineral/metal materials, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, automobiles, and general machinery/appliances accounted for relatively high percentages. Within the city, the annual sales of the wholesale industry by type of business showed that mineral/metal materials and electric machinery and appliances accounted for relatively high percentages. With a high concentration of industry in the Greater Nagoya Area, raw materials for manufacturing and machinery/appliances are the core of the wholesale industry of the city.
   
   
3. Regarding the geographical distribution of wholesale establishments by ward, Naka Ward and Nakamura Ward show high concentrations, with their number of establishments and annual sales combined accounting for about 36% and about 56%, respectively, of the city's total. In terms of the number of wholesale establishments in the city, machinery/appliances accounted for 29.6%, while construction materials/mineral/metal materials accounted for 21.1%. Establishments that deal in machinery/appliances and construction materials /mineral/metal materials are more concentrated in Meito and Mizuho Wards and Minato and Minami Wards, respectively.
   
   
4. The annual sales of the wholesale industry of Aichi Prefecture by suppliers showed that transactions between head offices and branches within the same companies are most frequent (36.4%). By distribution channel, "other wholesale (wholesale within the same company)" accounts for the highest percentage (40.5%), showing the important role of branches in the wholesale industry in the prefecture.