A Quarterly Report for Benchmarking A/R Performance
Q3 2022 Report
The U.S. Accounts Receivable and Days Sales Outstanding Industry Report from Dun & Bradstreet and the Credit Research Foundation suggests that industries are showing resilience even while facing economic and market challenges – at least from the companies that submit A/R data to Dun & Bradstreet and the CRF.
The Q3 2022 report shows that 21 of the 211 industry segments report more than 10% of their aging dollars are 90+ days past due. These results are higher than Q2 2022 when 16 industry segments reported more than 10% of their aging dollars were severely delinquent.
The Q3 2022 report lists industries by SIC code, along with the percentage of Dun & Bradstreet reporting companies that are current on payments, then slow to 30 days late, slow to 60 days late, slow to 90 days late, and then severely delinquent at 91+ days late (for more information, see Methodology below.) The Q3 2022 report data is presented in 15 different industry segments: Agriculture; Business and Professional Services; Chemicals; Construction; Consumer Goods; Energy and Utilities; Food; Machinery; Manufacturing; Metals and Mining; Retail; Technology and Electronics; Transportation; Wholesale; and Wood and Paper.
Highlights of the Q3 report show that companies in the publishing industry and the construction industry report to Dun & Bradstreet that almost a third or more of their accounts receivable dollars are paid severely delinquent. Certain types of manufacturing, wholesale, business and professional services, and consumer goods companies report more past due dollars. However, note that many of those industries reporting more than 10% of their dollars severely delinquent still have the majority of their dollars current.
As a preview of the data available, the chart below shows the top 15 industries that paid more than 90 days late during Q3 (July 1-September 30) 2022.
Top 15 Industries Getting Paid Severely Late in Q3 2022
| SIC Code | Industry | % Paying Current | Up To 30 Days Late | 30-60 Days Late | 60-90 Days Late | 91+ Days Late |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2741 | Misc publishing | 37.7% | 8.4% | 3.8% | 2.4% | 47.7% |
| 1542 | Nonresidential construction | 51.0% | 10.5% | 2.6% | 1.6% | 34.3% |
| 15 | Construction - General Contractors & Operative Builders | 51.4% | 10.4% | 2.7% | 1.6% | 33.9% |
| 3533 | Mfg oil/gas field machinery | 42.7% | 17.0% | 5.1% | 3.2% | 32.0% |
| 4813 | Telephone communications | 50.1% | 14.6% | 5.6% | 4.1% | 25.7% |
| 5047 | Whol medical/hospital equipment | 51.9% | 0.4% | 19.0% | 9.0% | 19.7% |
| 5142 | Whol packaged frozen goods | 69.4% | 12.6% | 2.0% | 1.0% | 15.1% |
| 7359 | Equipment rental/leasing | 42.4% | 11.5% | 16.4% | 15.3% | 14.4% |
| 5734 | Ret computers/software | 54.1% | 18.4% | 9.0% | 4.9% | 13.7% |
| 57 | Home Furniture, Furnishings and Equipment Stores | 54.3% | 18.6% | 9.0% | 4.7% | 13.4% |
| 76 | Miscellaneous Repair Services | 63.2% | 14.7% | 5.5% | 3.4% | 13.3% |
| 7699 | Repair services | 63.7% | 14.9% | 5.5% | 3.1% | 12.7% |
| 3444 | Mfg sheet metalwork | 77.6% | 7.3% | 1.5% | 0.9% | 12.7% |
| 5191 | Whol farm supplies | 71.6% | 11.4% | 2.6% | 2.0% | 12.4% |
| 5122 | Whol drugs/sundries | 64.6% | 13.7% | 4.6% | 5.3% | 11.8% |
Methodology
This joint report expands upon the Credit Research Foundation's own quarterly report, the National Summary of Domestic Trade Receivables (NSDTR), by providing aging A/R percentages on more industry segments. Dun & Bradstreet’s aging A/R data is supplied by contributors to the Global Trade Exchange Program, its commercial trade data network. Contributors report their trade payment information to help strengthen reporting of trade credit experiences. The DSO numbers are those collected by CRF from its NSDTR survey process. Dun & Bradstreet’s aging A/R data and CRF’s DSO numbers are presented side by side for an industry. Both sets of data are presented when the numbers of providers and survey results meet a minimum threshold of relevance.