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• In 2006, e-commerce grew faster than
total economic activity in all of the four
major economic sectors covered by the
E-Stats report. However, change over
time in the e-commerce share of each
sector’s overall shipments, sales, or
revenues continue to be gradual.
• In 2006, as in prior years, Manufacturers
and Merchant Wholesalers relied far
more heavily on e-commerce than
Retailers or Selected Service
businesses. Manufacturers also
increased their use of e-commerce at a
faster pace.
• In 2006, as in prior years, business-tobusiness
(B-to-B) activity—by definition
here, transactions by Manufacturers and
Merchant Wholesalers—accounted for
most e-commerce (93 percent).
• Evidence from Merchant Wholesalers
indicates that B-to-B e-commerce relies
overwhelmingly on proprietary
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
systems.
Sector Highlights
This edition of E-Stats provides estimates of
e-commerce activity in key sectors of the
U.S. economy for 2006, revises previously
released 2005 estimates, and places these
estimates in historical context. Underlying
data are collected in four separate surveys
from approximately 137,700 manufacturing,
wholesale, service, and retail businesses.
The data show that in 2006:
• Manufacturers led all industry sectors.

e-shipments were concentrated. Six
manufacturing industry groups accounted for
more than 71 percent of the sector’s 2006
e-shipments: Transportation Equipment,
with 24 percent of all e-shipments ($383
billion); Chemical Products with 13 percent
($205 billion); Petroleum and Coal Products
at 10 percent ($160 billion); Food Products
at 10 percent ($154 billion); Computer and
Electronic Products at 8 percent ($121
billion); and Machinery Products at 6 percent
($93 billion). In 2006, these six industries
accounted for 63 percent of total
manufacturing shipments.
From 2005 to 2006, e-shipments grew
substantially in three manufacturing industry
groups: Textile Mills (65 percent), Textile
Product Mills (61 percent), and Food
Products (56 percent). Of these, one
group—Food Products was among the
largest e-shippers. Two other large
e-shippers, Paper Products, and Machinery
Products increased their e-shipments at a
vigorous pace—33 and 29 percent
respectively.
with e-commerce accounting for 31.2
percent ($1,568 billion) of total
shipments—up substantially for the fifth
straight year.
• Merchant Wholesalers, including
Manufacturing Sales Branches and
Offices (MSBOs), ranked second, with
e-commerce accounting for 20.6 percent
($1,148 billion) of total sales.
• Retailers’ e-commerce sales increased
by 22 percent. As a share of total retail
sales, however, e-commerce sales
remained modest—2.7 percent ($107
billion), up from 2.4 percent ($87 billion)
in 2005.
• E-commerce sales for Selected Service
Industries, a special group of service
industries created for the E-Stats report,
increased by 14.9 percent. E-commerce
accounted for 1.8 percent ($114 billion) of
these industries’ total revenues—up from
1.7 percent ($99 billion) in 2005.