I need benchmarked data for "inventory turns" by industry. Average and
standard deviation would be best.
In particular, construction, sheet metal, capital equipment,
elevators, hoists, capital equipment
Note: I am not interested in links to reports...most of 'em cost a few grand. |
Clarification of Question by
ahsiegel-ga
on
25 Oct 2002 09:48 PDT
I need information by end of day 25 October 2002...otherwise cancel this request.
Thanks,
Alex
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Request for Question Clarification by
omnivorous-ga
on
25 Oct 2002 09:57 PDT
The splits don't match your specific definitions (and standard
deviations aren't there) but this is typical of what will be
available:
http://www.bizstats.com/currentratios.htm
Let us know how well it matches and we can proceed from here. And we
do understand the need for speed!
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
|
Clarification of Question by
ahsiegel-ga
on
25 Oct 2002 10:05 PDT
Omnivorous-GA-
That was fast!
The industry splits were fine...and the lack of standard deviations I
can live with...However, I didn't see "inventory turns" data...
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Request for Question Clarification by
omnivorous-ga
on
25 Oct 2002 10:25 PDT
In the case of Bizstats, they're using inventory percentage of
revenues. If this list is adequate, all you need to do is do
100/inventory percentage to get your turns. As an example:
General building contractors: 4.88 turns
Heavy construction contractors: 50 turns
Special trade contractors: 16 turns
I used that page because it demonstrates the types of business
categories you'll typically see in data. The most-detailed measures
follow categories in the NAICS (SIC) codes.
If the Bizstats data is adequate for your use, get on to doing that
report -- you've got your answer!!
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
|
Clarification of Question by
ahsiegel-ga
on
25 Oct 2002 10:30 PDT
I don't believe that percent of revenues is not a safe way to value
inventory turns.
Revenue is cost plus any profit.
inventory turns is looking at cost to cost: in particular, how much
inventory is in house...versus how much do we buy over the whole year.
Turns: Total Value Of Inventory Used In A Year (At Cost) / Total
Value of Inventory On Hand at a point in time (At Cost)
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Request for Question Clarification by
omnivorous-ga
on
25 Oct 2002 10:34 PDT
You are correct -- rookie financial mistake on my part. I'll go after
the original data because we do have to get gross margins out of
there.
Thank goodness there's no colors in this format because you'd have to
color me red.
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
|
Clarification of Question by
ahsiegel-ga
on
25 Oct 2002 10:36 PDT
Thanks.
Any idea on how long it might take for you to do that?
Alex
|
Request for Question Clarification by
omnivorous-ga
on
25 Oct 2002 10:56 PDT
AH --
I was on the case when I realized that I'm in Washington state (11 am)
and that you might have a tighter deadline. I'll know within an hour
whether the information is readily available from a number of business
sources. I'm highly (80%) confident that it is.
If it's not -- I'll let you know what I do find by about noon PDT.
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
|
Clarification of Question by
ahsiegel-ga
on
25 Oct 2002 11:51 PDT
Sounds good.
I can wait a bit...'cause I am a-hoping you can help!
Alex
|
Request for Question Clarification by
omnivorous-ga
on
25 Oct 2002 12:11 PDT
Alex --
If I can't help it won't be because we didn't try! Take a look at
these inventory turn numbers; interestingly enough the page includes
gross margin information. The most-likely categories to fit what
you're seeking are:
Wholesale -- machinery & equipment
Wholesale -- vehicles & automotive
Wholesale -- lumber & construction
Source:
http://www.bizstats.com/inventory.htm
I'm still on the case and will be checking to see if I can get access
to a print or on-line copy of Dun & Bradstreet's "Industry Norm & Key
Business Ratio" report, which appears annually. I've been through a
couple of known sources of business data and am on to a couple more
that are often helpful.
I'll get back to you again by 13:00 PDT.
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
|
Clarification of Question by
ahsiegel-ga
on
25 Oct 2002 12:41 PDT
Keep it up.
We are getting close.
AHS
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Request for Question Clarification by
omnivorous-ga
on
25 Oct 2002 13:05 PDT
The 1997 Economic Census contains detailed data that would allow you
to pull industry ratios. Specifically, it includes inventory; COGS
and value-added -- for a wide variety of business types.
Here are a few of the major business types that would cover your area.
Each has its own report:
23 Construction
31-33 Manufacturing
42 Wholesale trade
44-45 Retail trade
This is the Construction report (January, 2000). This is a 65-page
report, so if you have a high-speed data link it doesn't take long to
download:
http://www.census.gov/prod/ec97/97c23-is.pdf
Within the Construction report you can breakdowns for the dozens of
NAICS classifications. The major ones are:
223 Building, developing & general contracting
224 Heavy construction
235 Special trade contractors
Ratios for each of these categories (independent of size) in 1997 are:
Building, developing & general contracting
Materials, components, supplies, fuel: $241.4 billion
End of year inventory: $11.6 billion
Turnover ratio: 20.8
Heavy construction:
MCSF: $39.9 billion
Inventory: $1.0 billion
Turnover ratio: 39.9
Special trade contractors:
MSCF: $117.8 billion
Inventory: $4.7 billion
Turnover ratio: 25.1
This gives you a good split WITHIN construction. Let me know how this
works for you and whether you'd like me to look at the other major
business. In the meantime, I'll see if my local library has the D&B
"Industry Norm and Key Business Ratio" analysis -- that would be far
easier than downloading each of these reports; choosing the right
sector; then running the ratios.
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
|
Clarification of Question by
ahsiegel-ga
on
25 Oct 2002 13:13 PDT
This is getting good!
In fact, it is amazing. Please get me the links for the other reports...
And if you get the D&B report, even better.
Thanks,
Alex
|
Alex --
There are some large reports here, so I'm going to indicate the size
as well. The good news is that you can split the industry segments
about as finely as you'd like.
First, the general page for 1997 Economic Survey data, which was
released in 2000 and 2001:
http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/econ97.html
The manufacturing report is very detailed by type of company. "The
General Summary, 1997 Economic Census, Manufacturing," (June, 2001),
193 pages:
http://www.census.gov/prod/ec97/97m31s-gs.pdf
This report includes the beginning and end-of-year inventories on
Table 1. To figure inventory turns, you'll have to jump to Table 4,
page 525 of the PDF document for COGS. "The General Summary, 1997
Economic Census, Wholesale Trade," (March, 2001), 563 pages:
http://www.census.gov/prod/ec97/97w42-sm.pdf
This report is even more detailed than the Wholesale Trade report,
splitting things down to categories. For example, you can see the
level of minivan sales among auto dealers. However I couldn't find
any inventory data in the four different national retail reports.
Sales information is in
"The General Summary, 1997 Economic Census, Merchandise Line Sales,"
(January, 2001), 258 pages has sales numbers for retail:
http://www.census.gov/prod/ec97/97r44-sm.pdf
Finding out what and where is in the Economic Survey data took quite a
while, as these are big PDF files. If you're at work and have access
to multiple computers, it might be a good idea to do downloads
simultaneously.
I'm still going to take a look for the D&B information. Many
libraries have that report, so you might wish to check with the
largest library or a business library near you.
I never did find out what time zone you're in! It's already Miller
Time on the East Coast.
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA |
Request for Answer Clarification by
ahsiegel-ga
on
25 Oct 2002 14:52 PDT
Yup...am on East Coast time...as well as being on the east coast.
If you find that data, great. In the meantime, I will slog through
the data you sent me.
Alex
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Clarification of Answer by
omnivorous-ga
on
25 Oct 2002 15:48 PDT
Alex --
I've struct out at getting the Dun & Bradstreet "Industry Norm & Key
Business Ratio" report online, though I wasn't surprised. I'm in part
of a two-county library chain and my local library doesn't have it
either.
There is a second D&B reference book (also not available at a
convenient spot in this district) that may be available to you and
carry key financial ratios:
D&B's "Business Rankings 2002" (they do edition each year), which is
probably in the reference section, 338.74022.
Finally, in looking for this information, the Google search strategy
started out as:
"inventory turns" + "business ratios"
I also knew from experience that key data would be published by
BizStats; the Commerce Department; Small Business Administration; and
Dun and Bradstreet.
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
ahsiegel-ga
on
04 Nov 2002 11:49 PST
Follow-up question-
The bizstat numbers you got were great...are there any similar numbers
for the HVAC (Heating, ventilation, airconditioning) industry...mostly
I am looking for contractor and installer data.
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Clarification of Answer by
omnivorous-ga
on
04 Nov 2002 15:23 PST
Alex -
A good way to find information on the Bizstats pages is to use
Google's site search capability (via the Google toolbar; the advanced
search capability; or by typing it in the URL line), using the term
"HVAC".
This page has the information that I believe you're seeking:
http://www.bizstats.com/hvac.htm
And don't forget to rate this answer!
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
ahsiegel-ga
on
12 Nov 2002 10:53 PST
I just posted another question...hope we get to work together again.
Alex
|
Clarification of Answer by
omnivorous-ga
on
12 Nov 2002 11:12 PST
Alex --
I saw the other question and almost commented on it. Here's where the
hard parts are -- projections; international.
I believe that the data on revenues/number of firms/profitability can
be found in U.S. government economic information. For projections and
international we need to find good sources of private market research.
I know where there's some good data on auto manufacturing and on
aerospace/defense; my knowledge of medical, pharmaceutical, plastics
equipment businesses is limited to knowing that I get aspirin from a
plastic bottle (and don't need a prescription).
As a general comment, the more limited questions are, the more likely
they are to get answered. And forecast numbers are sometimes the
toughest -- though if you look at my answers to computer/semiconductor
questions you'll see that I don't hesitate to go out on a limb.
Customers often cancel a question, then repost it in segments. Don't
hesitate to do that if you think that it will speed your responses to
#106088
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
|
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