Wholesalers and Retailers in U.S. Trade (Long Version)

We combine data on individual trade transactions from U.S. customs records with comprehensive information on firms' employment from the Census Bureau's business register to examine wholesalers and retailers in U.S. exports and imports. Exporters and importers with 100 percent employment in wholesale and retail differ from pure "producer and consumer" trading firms along a number of dimensions: they are smaller in terms of employment, trade value and domestic sales, operate fewer U.S. establishments and are present in fewer U.S. states. "Mixed" firms, i.e., those with both production/consumption and wholesale retail within the boundaries of the firm, on the other hand, are substantially larger. They trade more products, trade with more countries, and are more likely to engage in related-party trade.