Fastenal Daily Sales Slow as Fasteners Turn Negative in May - Modern Distribution Management

Log In

Fastenal Daily Sales Slow as Fasteners Turn Negative in May

It was the distributor's weakest daily sales growth month since June 2021.
Fastenal 1Q earnings
Author
Date

Industrial and construction supplies distributor Fastenal issued its May sales report on June 6, showing the company’s weakest daily sales growth in nearly two years.

Fastenal reported May 2023 net sales of $649 million, up 10.2% year-over-year, with daily sales up 5.2%. While still a solid growth figure for the company, historically, that was its weakest daily sales growth since June 2021’s 1.7%. 

As evidence of just how much tougher the year-to-year comparison is for industrial distributors in the current quarter, Fastenal’s daily sales growth a year earlier in May 2022 was 17.6%.

Fastenal’s May 2023 daily sales figure was up 0.7% from April/

Other notes from Fastenal’s May 2023 sales report:

By geography:

  • Daily sales in the U.S. grew 4.0% year-over-year (7.0% in April)
  • Daily sales in Canada & Mexico grew 14.0% year-over-year (14.4% in April)
  • Daily sales to the rest of international decreased 1.7% year-over-year (+3.9% in April)

By end market:

  • Daily sales to manufacturing customers grew 9.7% year-over-year (13.0% in April)
  • Daily sales to nonresidential construction customers decreased 9.5% (-8.2% in April)

By product line:

  • Daily sales of fasteners grew decreased 0.6% year-over-year (+1.2% in April)
  • Daily sales of safety products grew 6.8% year-over-year (10.1% in April)
  • Daily sales of all other products grew 9.0% year-over-year (12.1% in April)

By customer/channel type:

  • Daily sales to national accounts grew 9.0% year-over-year (13.0% in April)
  • Daily sales to non-national accounts were flat (0.0%) year-over-year (1.0% in April)
  • 71.0% of Fastenal’s national accounts grew sales year-over-year (78.0% in April)
  • 52.0% of Fastenal’s public branches grew sales year-over-year (52.8% in April)

Headcount:

  • Fastenal ended May with a total headcount of 22,886 — up 0.3% vs. April and up 6.7% year-over-year
  • Total full-time selling personnel ended May at 14,808 — up 4.9% year-over-year and up 0.6% from April; total full-time non-selling personnel ended April at 5,578 — up 9.1% year-over-year and up 1.2% from April
  • Total distribution/transportation personnel ended May at 3,034 — up 6.9% year-over-year and up 1.3% from April
  • Total full-time manufacturing personnel ended May at 719 — up 7.5% year-over-year and up 0.8% from April
  • Total full-time organizational support personnel ended May at 1,825 — up 13.8% year-over-year and up 1.3% from April

Related Posts

Share this article

About the Author
Recommended Reading
Leave a Reply

Leave a Comment

Sign Up for the MDM Update Newsletter

The MDM update newsletter is your best source for news and trends in the wholesale distribution industry.

Get the MDM Update Newsletter

Wholesale distribution news and trends delivered right to your inbox.

Sign-up for our free newsletter and get:

  • Up-to-date news in a quick-to-read format
  • Free access to webcasts, podcasts and live events
  • Exclusive whitepapers, research and reports
  • And more!

2

articles left

Want more Premium content from MDM?

Subscribe today and get:

  • New issues twice each month
  • Unlimited access to mdm.com, including 10+ years of archived data
  • Current trends analysis, market data and economic updates
  • Discounts on select store products and events

Subscribe to continue reading

MDM Premium Subscribers get:

  • Unlimited access to MDM.com
  • 1 year digital subscription, with new issues twice a month
  • Trends analysis, market data and quarterly economic updates
  • Deals on select store products and events

1

article
left

You have one free article remaining

Subscribe to MDM Premium to get unlimited access. Your subscription includes:

  • Two new issues a month
  • Access to 10+ years of archived data on mdm.com
  • Quarterly economic updates, trends analysis and market data
  • Store and event discounts

To continue reading, you must be an MDM Premium subscriber.

Join other distribution executives who use MDM Premium to optimize their business. Our insights and analysis help you enter the right new markets, turbocharge your sales and marketing efforts, identify business partners that help you scale, and stay ahead of your competitors.

Register for full access

By providing your email, you agree to receive announcements from us and our partners for our newsletter, events, surveys, and partner resources per MDM Terms & Conditions. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Learn More about Custom Reports

Request a Market Prospector Demo

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.