A Quarterly Report for Benchmarking A/R Performance
Q3 2020 Report
Dun & Bradstreet and the Credit Research Foundation's quarterly US Accounts Receivable and Days Sales Outstanding Industry Report shows that certain industries are beginning to recover from the impact from the coronavirus pandemic – at least from the companies that submit A/R data to Dun & Bradstreet and the CRF.
The Q3 2020 reports shows that 15 of the 225 industry segments report more than 10% of their aging dollars are 90+ days past due, while the Q2 2020 report showed 45 industries reported this figure, and in Q1 2020, 23 industries reported more than 10% of their aging dollars were severely delinquent.
The coronavirus pandemic, while impacting certain industries, has not had a profound negative impact on every industry.
“The data speaks to pockets of recovery across many industries. While some industries are reporting significant slowness and payment delinquency, alternately, there are areas within the economy that are experiencing unprecedented growth and robust results - which is also reflected in their accounts receivable performance,” William F. Balduino, President and COO of the Credit Research Foundation, said.
Balduino advises business credit professionals to use this quarterly report to benchmark their company's A/R performance against industry averages and investigate the differences. Although differences could be driven by unique company portfolios, using credit best practices plays an important part in driving A/R performance.
“Hence the importance of a full portfolio analysis which allows credit risk management teams to properly assess and apply appropriate strategies across their customer base,” Balduino said.
The Q3 2020 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 2020 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 software companies and the printing and publishing industry are reporting to Dun & Bradstreet that more than 50% of their accounts receivable dollars are paid severely delinquent. However, many of those industries reporting more than 10% of their dollars severely delinquent still do not 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 – Sept. 30.
Top 15 Industries Getting Paid Severely Late in Q3 2020
| SIC Code | Industry | % Paying Current | Up To 30 Days Late | 30-60 Days Late | 60-90 Days Late | 91+ Days Late |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2741 |
Misc. publishing |
21% |
7% |
3% |
3% |
66% |
| 2759 |
Commercial printing | 27% |
12% |
4% |
2% |
55% |
| 7372 |
Prepackaged software services |
40% |
4% |
2% |
2% |
52% |
| 5531 |
Wholesale flowers and florist supplies | 59% |
14% |
2% |
2% |
24% |
| 181 |
Ornamental nursery |
65% |
4% |
3% |
6% |
23% |
| 1 |
Agricultural production - crops |
64% |
7% |
4% |
8% |
18% |
| 5047 | Wholesale medical/hospital equipment | 55% |
3% |
17% |
8% |
17% |
| 5142 |
Wholesale packaged frozen goods | 71% |
11% |
1% |
1% |
16% |
| 3822 | Manufacturing environmental controls | 54% |
20% |
8% |
4% |
14% |
| 7359 | Equipment rental/leasing | 52% |
12% |
15% |
8% |
14% |
| 7699 |
Repair services | 60% |
16% |
6% |
4% |
13% |
| 76 | Misc. repair services |
60% |
16% |
6% |
4% |
13% |
| 27 | Printing, publishing and allied industries | 71% |
10% |
3% |
2% |
13% |
| 3444 | Mfg sheet metalwork | 79% |
7% |
1% |
1% |
12% |
| 7353 | Heavy construction equipment rental | 47% |
24% |
11% |
6% |
12% |
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 considerably 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, who 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.
