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The annual rankings report prepared by Industrial Distribution is out. It is interesting even for small distributors to take a look into - it relates to growth rates, acquisition and sales of companies, the fates of different product categories and the general ups and downs of revenue activity.

Here are your top 5:

W.W. Grainger, Lake Forest, IL #1 at $16.5 bil.

Motion, Birmingham, AL #2 at $8.8 bil.

Airgas, Radnor, PA #3 at $7.8 bil.

Fastenal, Winona, MN #4 at$7.3 bil.

Winsupply Inc., Moraine, OH #5 at $7.0 bil.

The full survey can be seen here. Where the rankings have displayed a N/A for sales, the reports here are using interpolated figures.

In browsing this compilation, the place to start is the additions and deletions - I compared the 2024 list to the one from 5 years earlier. Attached are summaries of the 12 companies added and the 12 deleted in that period.

The biggest variable in the rankings is the effect of companies buying their way on the list or selling their way off the list. You can see the additions of White Cap (2022) and Core & Main (2023), both acquisitive. Then there is the deletion of HD Supply, sold to Home Depot in 2023. You will see that the size of these companies will greatly impact any analysis you are doing.

Additions and Deletions to 2024 Top 50

Otherwise, it is variations in organic revenue that leaves the companies sliding up or down. There are 38 remaining slots - and they provide the best option here for analyzing revenue change because the figures are for a static group - in this case there is an annual growth rate for sales of 7%. The list is attached. You will see growth rates vary from 36% for Distribution Solutions Group to -6%, for DNOW. Remember that we don’t have the effect of transactions shown, but we know in general, for example, that Distribution Solutions Group is the combination of two 2019 companies, Lawson and Hisco.

There were 10 other double digit growth companies, for five years running.

Comparison of Returning 38 Companies 2024 to 2019

Staying on these 38 companies, it is interesting to compare their group result to the that for the total 50 companies and the 12 additions and deletions. That is shown here. The arriving companies averaged $1.7 bil. while the departing $1.3 bil. - this differential is adding to growth rates.

Comparison of Returning 38 Companies to Other Totals

And finally, how do scale and size affect these ranking? I segmented the 50 companies into an analysis of the Top 10 versus 11 to 50. There is a staggering degree of dropoff from one to the other. Note these:

68% of revenue com from the Top 10, 20% of the companies.
Average revenue per company on the Top 10 is a factor of 8.5 times that for the other group (up from 7.8 times).
But annual revenue growth at 7% versus 5% - surprisingly close given the greater likelihood of there being acquisition revenue in the larger companies.

Comparison of Top 10 to 11 to 50

The new survey will be out in the fall and we will be looking at it. In the meantime, take a look at Industrial Distribution’s content. Start with the e-newsletter:

A daily e-newsletter reaching industrial distributors and their supply chain partners with market updates, industry trends, expert blogs, new product information and the latest merger & acquisition news.

1 - Meet the Big 50 from Industrial Distribution’s Survey

2- NAW: How this national association can help the independent distributor run its business better