Corporate America Keeps Payment Delays Steady Despite Wild Swings Beneath the Surface

Creditsafe’s Working Capital Dynamics Report reveals stable averages but fragile liquidity and sector-specific strain

ALLENTOWN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--While U.S. companies have managed to keep average invoice delays remarkably steady at around 11 days late for two consecutive years, new analysis from Creditsafe’s Working Capital Dynamics Report uncovers deeper volatility in payment behaviors, pointing to fragile liquidity and sector-level stress.

The nationwide study, which analyzed payment data, credit risk, and delinquency patterns for more than 32 million U.S. businesses, highlights that stability on the surface masks sharp swings in how companies are managing their bills.

Key findings from the report include:

• Average Days Beyond Terms (DBT) Remain Flat: Across all U.S. industries, average DBT held steady at 10.9–11 days from 2023 through mid-2025, showing companies are not letting invoices slip dramatically past payment terms.
• Wild Swings in Short-Term Payments: Invoices 1–30 days late surged to 41.5% in June 2024 before collapsing to 1.9% by May 2025 — economists warn that this type of swing signals fragile liquidity and uncertain confidence.
• Spike-and-Retreat in Serious Delinquencies: Bills 91+ days late jumped to 5.7% in February 2025 before plunging to just 0.3% by May 2025 — the lowest in two years. This pattern suggests businesses are absorbing shocks in short bursts rather than achieving true stability.
• Best and Worst Financial Management by Industry:
  The industries showing the strongest payment discipline were Agriculture & Forestry, with bills paid an average of just 7.3 days late and almost no delinquencies, and Financial Services, which also maintained resilient payment behaviors.
  
  In contrast, the most strained sectors included Mining, where 3.0% of bills were more than 91 days overdue and the bankruptcy risk reached 0.30%; Transportation & Utilities, averaging 11.6 days late with 0.55% of bills seriously delinquent; and Wholesale Trade, where invoices were paid an average of 10.3 days late and 0.11% were more than 91 days overdue.

Steve Carpenter, Chief Operating Officer for North America at Creditsafe, says, “At first glance, corporate America looks steady because average payment delays aren’t getting worse. But when you dig into the details, you see wild swings in payment behavior that reveal a more fragile picture. Companies are operating on tight cash flow, absorbing shocks quickly but leaving themselves exposed to the next disruption. Businesses that focus only on averages risk overlooking critical warning signs, with those signals already flashing in sectors such as mining, transportation, and wholesale.”

The Working Capital Dynamics Report also highlights that while many industries staged a “credit clean-up” in early 2025 with delinquency buckets collapsing to fractions of a percent, this does not guarantee long-term stability. Instead, it signals short-term liquidity relief amid structural vulnerabilities.

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Creditsafe, the global expert in credit monitoring and risk management, is the world’s most used provider of business reports. Today, over 115,000 customers globally depend on Creditsafe to make critical business decisions. Using real-time data from over 9,000 sources across over 200 countries and territories, Creditsafe’s mission is to help businesses mitigate financial, legal and compliance risks, while also empowering them to make more informed decisions. To learn more, visit our website.