Eric Smith

Fastenal Co. (Nasdaq: FAST), Winona, Minnesota, reported October sales of $488.2 million, down 0.4% from the same month a year ago. The company reported daily sales of $22.2 million, up 4.1% versus a year ago. By region, U.S. sales grew 3%, Canada/Mexico sales grew 6.8% and “rest of world” sales grew 30.7%. By end market, manufacturing […]

WESCO International Inc. (NYSE: WCC), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, rode its $4.5 billion acquisition of Anixter International Inc. to another quarter of strong sales growth. The electrical distribution giant reported third-quarter sales of $4.1 billion, up 93% from the same period a year ago due to Anixter’s financials now being included in the earnings report. The company […]

While it’s difficult to predict what will happen with wholesale distribution and the broader U.S. economy in the fourth quarter and beyond, MDM’s newest feature, the Quarterly Markets Forecast, zeroes in on the different scenarios that might transpire. In a recent video interview with MDM, Brian Lewandowski of the Leeds School of Business at the […]

Stockholm, Sweden-based manufacturer Atlas Copco announced Wednesday it has agreed to acquire Ehrler and Beck GmbH, a distributor of vacuum equipment and vacuum services. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Ehrler and Beck is based in Renningen, Germany, and has 15 employees. The company’s sales and service network is active in Germany and neighboring countries. […]

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced Wednesday that the goods and services deficit was $63.9 billion in September, down $3.2 billion from $67 billion in August, revised. September exports were $176.4 billion, $4.4 billion more than August exports. September imports were $240.2 billion, $1.2 billion more than August imports. The September […]

NOW Inc. (NYSE: DNOW), Houston, TX, reported sales for the second quarter of $326 million, a 556.6% decrease from the same period a year ago. The company reported a loss of $22 million, compared to a profit of $10 million a year ago. In the third quarter, sales in the U.S. were down 59.8% to […]

Like most businesses, distributors were hit hard by COVID-19 and the economic devastation that ensued. But the industry proved its resilience in the third quarter and set in motion a V-shaped (or mostly V-shaped) recovery. Distributors, as a whole, posted average revenue of -3.2% in 3Q (July through September) compared with the year-ago quarter. The […]

Foundation Building Materials Inc. (NYSE:FBM) Tustin, California, reported sales for third quarter of $521.3 million, a decrease of 7.7% compared to the prior year period. Average daily net sales decreased 9.2%, and average daily base business net sales decreased 11% over the prior-year period. Profit was $11.8 million, down 7.1% from the previous year’s quarter. […]

Swedish bearings manufacturer SKF on Tuesday announced a consolidation and restructuring of various manufacturing, business and administrative functions in France. Consequently, manufacturing of slewing bearings would be moved from Avallon to St-Cyr-sur-Loire, resulting in the proposed closure of the Avallon factory. The company said the transfer of production from Avallon to St-Cyr “enables a more […]

Curbell Plastics Inc., Orchard Park, New York, a supplier of plastic sheet, rod, tube, tapes, and fabricated parts, on Tuesday announced the appointment of Jason Arceo as business manager for the Curbell Plastics Phoenix location. Arceo brings more than 20 years of industrial plastics experience to this position. He’ll lead the Phoenix branch team as Curbell Plastics’ […]

BMC Stock Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: STCK), Raleigh, North Carolina, reported sales for the third quarter of $1.1 billion, an increase of 13.1% compared to the year-ago period. The company reported a profit for the quarter of $44.9 million, up 33.6% from the same quarter a year ago. “BMC delivered record third quarter results, including double-digit […]

Wayne, Pennsylvania-based buying group AD announced Tuesday it has finalized a merger agreement with pipe, valves and fittings buying group Delta Distributors effective Jan. 1, 2021. Delta, which started about the same time AD launched its PVF Division, is a group of independent distributors serving the PVF channel. Its member sales across the U.S are […]

Construction spending in September was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,414.0 billion, 1.5% above the September 2019 estimate of $1,393.3 billion and 0.3% above the revised August estimate of $1,410.4 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. During the first nine months of 2020, construction spending amounted to $1,058.5 billion, 4.1% above […]

US LBM Holdings, a Buffalo Grove, Illinois-based distributor of specialty building materials, has acquired Zeeland Lumber & Supply, a building products dealer and manufacturer with six locations in Michigan and Northern Indiana. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Zeeland Lumber & Supply is based in Zeeland, Michigan. The company operates three truss and wall […]

US LBM Holdings, a Buffalo Grove, Illinois-based distributor of specialty building materials, has acquired Zeeland Lumber & Supply, a building products dealer and manufacturer with six locations in Michigan and Northern Indiana. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Zeeland Lumber & Supply is based in Zeeland, Michigan. The company operates three truss and wall […]

The first month of the fourth quarter was a bright spot for wholesale distribution M&A. With the end of 2020 mercifully in sight, activity accelerated across the industry during October. Deals unfolded in a variety of verticals — including building materials, safety, fasteners, industrial/MRO, plumbing, JanSan, electrical and others — and they came from a […]

Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI), Columbus, Ohio, this week released its monthly TRENDS report, showing the average sales performance by HARDI distributors was an increase of 13.9% during September. The average annual sales growth for the 12 months through September is 3.3%. “Sales growth during September was helped by an extra billing day […]

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in October, and the overall economy grew for the sixth consecutive month — after it had dipped significantly in the early stages of the coronavirus — say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The October PMI registered 59.3%, up 3.9% from the September […]

Turtle & Hughes, the Linden, New Jersey-based electrical distributor, on Monday announced that it has appointed co-CEO Kathleen Shanahan, pictured right, to CEO. She becomes the first non-family CEO in the company’s almost 100-year history but also continues a long legacy of leadership by women starting with Millard’s great grandmother. The moves is the final […]

Turtle & Hughes, the Linden, New Jersey-based electrical distributor, on Monday announced that it has appointed co-CEO Kathleen Shanahan, pictured right, to CEO. She becomes the first non-family CEO in the company’s almost 100-year history but also continues a long legacy of leadership by women starting with Millard’s great grandmother. The moves is the final […]