WASHINGTON — The Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) Research Foundation has released its 96th Edition HDA Factbook, showing that U.S. pharmaceutical distributors generated $862 billion in sales in 2024, a 10.4 percent increase over the prior year. Those sales accounted for 96 percent of all prescription drug purchases, underscoring the central role of distributors in the healthcare supply chain.
Despite the growth, distributors’ net margins after taxes fell to 0.2 percent of revenue, down from 0.3 percent in 2023 — the eleventh consecutive year of margin compression.
“This year’s Factbook highlights how the healthcare distribution industry continues to remain nimble in an ever-changing business environment,” said Perry Fri, Chief Industry Relations Officer and President, HDA Research Foundation. “Employee productivity continued to climb amid ongoing investments in automation and continued improvements in process enhancements. Through it all, distributors have narrowed their profit margins … proving they continue to be highly efficient.”
Shifting Customer Mix
Distributor sales by customer type shifted significantly in 2024:
- Chain drug stores rose to 40.5 percent of sales (from 36.4 percent in 2023)
- Hospitals, HMOs and clinics fell to 15.9 percent (from 20.4 percent)
- Specialty pharmacies increased to 6.4 percent (from 5.2 percent)
- Independent pharmacies dropped to 11.7 percent (from 13.1 percent)
Operational Highlights
- Each distribution center processed an average of 4,132 orders per business day, with 12 invoice lines and 25 units per order.
- Distributors worked with 1,429 manufacturers in 2024.
- Average inventory held was 22 days, down from 23 days in 2023.
- Fill rates for raw orders improved to 89 percent, with manufacturer supply issues responsible for 70 percent of unfilled orders.
- Net sales per employee rose 8 percent to $29.7 million, driven by investments in automation — now used by 68 percent of distributors, with half of invoice lines filled through automated methods.
Factbook Access
The 96th Edition HDA Factbook: The Facts, Figures and Trends in Healthcare (2025–2026) is available as a complimentary download from HDA.org. The publication was made possible through the support of gold sponsors Apotex Corp. and Real Value Rx; silver sponsors IQVIA and R&S Northeast LLC; and bronze sponsors Ascend Laboratories, LLC and Teva Pharmaceuticals.
Founded in 1929, the Factbook compiles survey data from HDA member companies with annual sales of over $1 billion and supplements it with secondary research from leading healthcare industry organizations.
