October 14, 2008

Chicago, IL-based distributor Grainger reported sales for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2008, were up 11% to $1.8 billion and 9% on a daily basis from the third quarter 2007. Profit for the quarter increased 28% to $140 million.

Daily sales for the company increased 11% in July, 7% in August and 9% in September. For the quarter, sales were positively affected by price inflation of 4 percentage points and by market expansion and product line expansion, which contributed approximately 3 percentage points of growth. Sales for the quarter were negatively affected by 1 percentage point due to lower sales of seasonal products, while they benefited by 1 percentage point from an acquisition completed in July.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2008, sales of $5.3 billion ...