Industrial and construction supplies distributor Fastenal reported its May sales results on June 4, which reflected continued and accelerated sales gains — both month-over-month and year-over-year as the company’s largest accounts saw continued sequential improvement.

The Big Picture

• Fastenal posted May total sales of $752 million — up 9.3% year-over-year, with daily sales up 14.8%. It was an acceleration from April’s 14.3% and the company’s best mark since August 2022 (16.1%) during the height of post-COVID-19 inflation. It was the company’s 11th straight month in double-figures for daily sales growth and topped the estimate of 13.7% from Baird’s Industrial Distribution Equity Research unit.
• Daily sales growth accelerated month-over-month across all geographies
• Sales accelerated month-over-month in Fastenal’s two largest end markets — heavy manufacturing and Other Manufacturing. Non-Residential slowed, while all other end markets had a modest acceleration
• 83% of Fastenal’s top 100 national accounts recorded growth in May — up from April’s 79% and far above the 67% of March

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“Overall, another excellent month, consistent with an accelerating industrial market, May’s 54.0 ISM (PMI) and continued price/market/outgrowth gains amid organizational and strategic changes. FAST remains our top industrial distribution stock.” Baird wrote in an analyst note regarding Fastenal’s monthly report.

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MDM’s Analysis

Fastenal is the only publicly traded industrial distributor that shares a monthly sales report, which can make it a good barometer for the overall health and demand status for the industrial supplies/MRO/construction markets it serves. However, much of the company’s recent growth should be viewed as Fastenal-specific rather than illustrating underlying demand momentum, given the company’s recent pricing actions and broader business strategy. In its 1Q26 financials, the company noted a pricing impact of 350 basis points — up from 310-340 in 4Q25 — as it maintains cost neutrality year-to-date and that pricing actions didn’t keep up with higher costs of business as the quarter progressed.

With May’s report showing sustained strong daily sales growth across each of the company’s three broad product categories, it indicates lasting momentum for Fastenal through the first half of 2026 against an improving industrial demand environment. The company doesn’t share volume details in its monthly report, but commentary from Fastenal’s 1Q26 earnings and in MDM’s 1Q26 MarketPulse Report indicate broader demand improvement for the markets that the company serves.

Go Deeper

Here’s the breakdown of Fastenal’s May 2026 sales report and how each metric compared with March (in parentheses):

May Daily Sales by Geography, Year-Over-Year:

• United States – 82.1% of sales: +13.3% (+13.2% in April)
• Canada/Mexico – 14.4% of sales: +20.3% (+18.6%)
• Rest of World – 3.5% of sales: +29.9% (+26.6%)

May Daily Sales by Customer Usage:

• Total Direct Materials – 39.1% of sales: +16.0% (+16.2% in April)
  • Direct fasteners/hardware – 21.2% of sales: +15.9% (+18.4%)
  • Direct cutting tools & abrasives – 5.1% of sales: +13.2% (+14.4%)
  • Direct non-fasteners/hardware – 12.8% of sales: +17.2% (+13.5%)
• Total Indirect Materials – 60.9% of sales: +14.5% (+13.7% in April)
  • Indirect fasteners/hardware – 9.7% of sales: +15.3% (+19.0%)
  • Indirect safety – 20.7% of sales: +13.8% (+13.0%)
  • Indirect non-fasteners/hardware & non-safety – 30.5% of sales: +14.7% (+11.9%)

May Daily Sales by Customer End Market: 

• Heavy manufacturing – 44.2% of sales: +18.7% (+17.7% in April)
• Other manufacturing – 32.1% of sales: +11.5% (+10.5%)
• Non-residential construction – 8.0% of sales: +16.0% (+20.3%)
• Other – 15.7% of sales: +12.4% (11.4%)

May Daily Sales by Customer Category: 

• 83.0% of Top 100 national accounts were growing (79.0% in April)
• 66.5% of in-market locations were growing (65.8%)
• Contract customers: +18.0% (+17.0%)
• Non-contract customers: +8.0% (+9.0%)
• FMI: +17.0% (+17.0%)
• eBusiness: +11.0% (+10.0%)

May Headcount

Fastenal ended May with a total headcount of 24,730 — flat vs. April and up 2.3% year-over-year. Full-time selling personnel headcount ended May at 15,606 — up 0.5% vs. April and up 1.6% year-over-year.