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Market Analysis

Analysis: Fastenal’s Strong 3Q Gains Meet a Softer Finish

Sales growth accelerated and operating profit jumped, even as pricing contributed less. But September missed street forecast and Fastenal’s seasonal benchmark. Here, we break down the quarterly results, monthly metrics and implications for industrial distributors.

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Data & Analytics

Is Data Really Modernization, or Just Lipstick on a Pig?

Economic Trends

August U.S. Wholesale Sales Jump 1.8% as Broad Gains Continue

Strategy

What Global Industrial’s Trade Show Revealed about its Customer Growth Strategy

Pricing

The Tariff Pricing Hangover Distributors Must Fix Before 2027

Mergers & Acquisitions

September M&A Roundup: Rexel, Watsco, ORS Lead the Way

Mergers & Acquisitions

Inside Rexel’s North American M&A Push: Buying Scale and Specialization

Strategy

ADI’s Next Test: Turning Integration Into Profit and Cash

Strategy

Inside ADI’s Growth Model: Digital, Exclusive Brands and a Bigger Share of the Job

Fastenal Quietly Acquired an AI Startup as Distribution Races to Scale

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK REPORTS

NAW 3Q26 Forecast Report

This comprehensive NAW 3Q26 Forecast is a guide to the U.S. wholesale distribution economy, providing a historical, current and future snapshot of numerous key economic indicators in one convenient place along with our exclusive sector-specific forecasts for 19 different product categories. Its economic indicator data is updated through July 17.

MDM 2Q26 Forecast Report

This comprehensive MDM 2Q26 Forecast is a guide to the U.S. wholesale distribution economy, providing a historical, current and future snapshot of numerous key economic indicators in one convenient place along with our exclusive sector-specific forecasts for 19 different product categories. Its economic indicator data is updated through May 15.

Premium Monthly

MDM September 2026 Premium Monthly Intelligence Brief

Our synthesized September Intelligence Brief covers our three-part ADI Global deep dive; Rexel’s North American M&A push; Fastenal’s quiet acquisition of an AI startup; the time sequence distributors are overlooking on supplier price increases; and our monthly MDM Forecast and wholesale trade sales update.

MDM August 2026 Premium Monthly Intelligence Brief

Our new-look Intelligence Brief synthesizes all of our monthly Premium articles into a 6 to 8-page report that distills key takeaways from that content — a perfect quick read for busy executives.

Market Insight Reports

NAW 2Q26 MarketPulse Report

NAW’s 2Q26 MarketPulse Report consists of the quarterly results, analysis and commentary from the latest Baird-MDM Industrial Distribution Survey — conducted early July — that explored revenue performance, pricing and business expectations for the current quarter and rest-of-year. It includes a wealth of market-specific data and commentary from survey respondents.

NAW 2Q26 M&A Report

See our updated monthly deal counts; a year-to-date breakdown of M&A activity by product category; the latest EBITDA trading multiples for 27 publicly traded industrial distributors; our latest M&A-led Premium article; and our detailed recap of dealmaking activity during April-June, which saw decelerated but still healthy activity.

Case Studies

MDM Case Study: Grainger

This MDM Case Study examines how Grainger continues to outgrow the MRO market through a connected operating model built on High-Touch customer solutions, curated assortment, private label, digital commerce, data intelligence and fulfillment scale.

MDM Case Study: Stellar Industrial Supply

This MDM Case Study examines how Stellar Industrial Supply built a differentiated growth model around documented customer savings, service-first selling and digital execution — turning measurable value creation into a durable platform for customer loyalty, expansion and operational excellence.

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Data & Analytics

Is Data Really Modernization, or Just Lipstick on a Pig?

Moving flawed data to the cloud or dressing it up with a dashboard doesn’t make it modern. This piece explains why real data modernization starts with clean inputs, clear ownership and common definitions — then puts trustworthy information where employees can use it to improve decisions, margins and customer service.

Economic Trends

August U.S. Wholesale Sales Jump 1.8% as Broad Gains Continue

U.S. wholesale sales accelerated in August, rising 1.8% as 16 of 19 product categories posted monthly gains. Durable goods led the advance — especially for those tied to data centers — while inventory growth slowed considerably, pushing the industry’s inventories-to-sales ratio lower. Get our full data breakdown and analysis of what it signals for distributors.

Strategy

What Global Industrial’s Trade Show Revealed about its Customer Growth Strategy

MDM got an inside look at Global Industrial’s national trade show, where the MRO distributor’s product breadth offered a window into its growing focus on customer verticals and deeper account relationships.

Pricing

The Tariff Pricing Hangover Distributors Must Fix Before 2027

Surcharges and price increases that were never meant to be permanent may still be sitting in distributors’ price books. It may be time to revisit what still holds up — and what doesn’t.

Mergers & Acquisitions

September M&A Roundup: Rexel, Watsco, ORS Lead the Way

Get our rundown of every deal we published during September, along with our updated monthly deal count and breakdown of year-to-date transactions by product category.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Inside Rexel’s North American M&A Push: Buying Scale and Specialization

Rexel’s newly-announced GCG acquisition extends a multiyear expansion that has strengthened its North American footprint while adding automation, connectivity and engineered services. Tracing those deals reveals how the company’s growth strategy is evolving — and what it signals for electrical distribution’s next phase of consolidation.

Strategy

ADI’s Next Test: Turning Integration Into Profit and Cash

ADI Global Distribution has outlined an $80 million-plus savings program and a path toward roughly $500 million in standalone adjusted EBITDA by 2030. But gross savings are not incremental profit, and growth does not automatically create cash. The third and final installment of our company deep dive examines the execution requirements behind those targets.

Strategy

Inside ADI’s Growth Model: Digital, Exclusive Brands and a Bigger Share of the Job

ADI’s standalone strategy is built around more than selling additional products. Its digital platform, exclusive brands, expanding categories and project services are designed to reinforce one another — helping integrators complete more of each job while improving the distributor’s customer relationships and revenue mix. See Part 2 of our three-part ADI deep dive here.

Fastenal Quietly Acquired an AI Startup as Distribution Races to Scale

Details on the deal are very limited, but directionally meaningful toward adding a new dimension to Fastenal’s AI ambitions among distribution's greater arms race of AI build-and-buy solutions. Here's our analysis of what this Fastenal acquisition signals for the company alongside other recent industry investments.

Economic Trends

MDM Forecast: September Update

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Strategy

ADI Global Distribution is Finally on Its Own. Now Comes the Hard Part

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Economic Trends

July U.S. Wholesale Sales Rebound Broadly as Inventories Jump

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Pricing

Three Clocks Started When Your Supplier Raised Costs. Your Team is Watching Only One

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Mergers & Acquisitions

August M&A Roundup: Busy Month Led by Parts Authority, Hillman, SRS and Grainger

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Pricing

Your Supplier Costs Went Up. How Long Did Your Pricing Lag Behind?

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The Hidden Cost of AI Agents: Why Model Routing Is the Real Advantage

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Mergers & Acquisitions

What Buyers Want in a More Selective Distribution M&A Market

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Research

NAW Research: Growth, Data Center Boom Fuels Distributor Optimism Amid Tariff Concerns

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Operations

Why Construction Estimates Fail, and How Distributors Can Make Them More Reliable

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Economic Trends

MDM Forecast: August Update

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Pricing

Three Clocks Started When Your Supplier Raised Costs. Your Team is Watching Only One

The first two articles in this series looked at the cost-to-price lag — in isolation. As explained here in the conclusion, the full picture is bigger: a single vendor cost increase actually triggers three separate clocks, and most distributors are watching only the first one.

Pricing

Your Supplier Costs Went Up. How Long Did Your Pricing Lag Behind?

Recent NAW survey results and independent case studies show that understanding the days-long gap between supplier cost increases and pricing response can help distributors feel more confident in protecting margins. The second in this three-part "The Hidden Majority" series shows that every day you wait, margin slips away.

Quarterly MDM-Baird Distribution Survey

Research: Pricing Power Holds Steady While Pressure Builds Beneath the Surface

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Sales & Marketing

Why Stellar Industrial Supply Doesn’t “Sell” — and Wins More Business Because of It

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Pricing

Winning the Race: Why Manual Cost Updates are Costing Distributors Millions

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Pricing

Where SPAs Fail, How to Fix Them, and Disciplines of Optimization

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Pricing

The 1% Problem: Why Even Best-in-Class Distributors Leave SPA Margin on the Table

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Pricing

The Hidden Margin of SPAs, and their Strategic Advantage

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Emerging Markets

Distributors Bet on Data Center Wave, Position for Long-Term Market Growth

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Pricing

Taking a Home Remodel Approach to Contract Pricing Governance

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Pricing

While Most Distributors Bleed Profits from Tariff Chaos, Contract Pricing Leaders Thrive

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Pricing

Turning Value into Price: A Distributor’s Playbook in Uncertain Times

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Technology

The Salesperson Hook: Build Sales Technology that Sells Itself

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Tariffs

A Few Words on Elasticity, the Future of Tariffs and Distributors’ Response

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Strategy

Beyond Supply: How Distributors Can Add Value as an Information Hub Amid Tariff Turmoil

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Branding for Distributors

Fastenal Just Inked a Partnership with an MLB Team. Here’s Why

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Market Analysis

Report: Truck Equipment Distributors Expect to Outperform Manufacturers in 2025

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Pricing

Inside MSC Industrial’s Big Pricing Reset

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Sales & Marketing

From SHIFT 2024: Customer-Based Sales Strategies

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Finance

MDM Research: Large Distributors Spending Less on Industry Events

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Data & Analytics

Is Data Really Modernization, or Just Lipstick on a Pig?

Economic Trends

August U.S. Wholesale Sales Jump 1.8% as Broad Gains Continue

Strategy

What Global Industrial’s Trade Show Revealed about its Customer Growth Strategy

Pricing

The Tariff Pricing Hangover Distributors Must Fix Before 2027

Surcharges and price increases that were never meant to be permanent may still be sitting in distributors’ price books. It may be time to revisit what still holds up — and what doesn’t.

Mergers & Acquisitions

September M&A Roundup: Rexel, Watsco, ORS Lead the Way

Get our rundown of every deal we published during September, along with our updated monthly deal count and breakdown of year-to-date transactions by product category.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Inside Rexel’s North American M&A Push: Buying Scale and Specialization

Strategy

ADI’s Next Test: Turning Integration Into Profit and Cash

Strategy

Inside ADI’s Growth Model: Digital, Exclusive Brands and a Bigger Share of the Job

Fastenal Quietly Acquired an AI Startup as Distribution Races to Scale

Economic Trends

MDM Forecast: September Update

September brought another modest upgrade to the industry’s 2026 revenue outlook, but broader softening in 2027 projections. Most sectors saw next year’s forecasts trimmed, with an Oil & Gas upgrade cushioning the overall reduction. Get your much more valuable sector-specific revenue forecasts here.

Strategy

ADI Global Distribution is Finally on Its Own. Now Comes the Hard Part

Fresh off its Resideo spin-off and NYSE debut, ADI CEO Rob Aarnes laid out the distributor’s next challenge: turn years of acquisitions and systems investment into a simpler, more integrated business. His playbook — consolidate platforms, clean the data and deploy AI where ROI is measurable — offers lessons far beyond ADI. We cover it here in detail.

Economic Trends

July U.S. Wholesale Sales Rebound Broadly as Inventories Jump

Industry sales rose 0.8% in July after June’s revised large decline, with gains across most product categories. Inventories increased even faster, but remain lean relative to sales compared with a year ago. Get our full data breakdown and analysis of what it signals for distributors.

Pricing

Three Clocks Started When Your Supplier Raised Costs. Your Team is Watching Only One

Mergers & Acquisitions

August M&A Roundup: Busy Month Led by Parts Authority, Hillman, SRS and Grainger

We published news about nearly three dozen different deals in August involving at least one industrial distributor. Get our rundown of all of them, along with our updated monthly deal count and breakdown of year-to-date transactions by product category.

Pricing

Your Supplier Costs Went Up. How Long Did Your Pricing Lag Behind?

The Hidden Cost of AI Agents: Why Model Routing Is the Real Advantage

AI agents can quickly inflate costs and amplify risk when every task uses the same model. This article shows how intelligent model routing, firm guardrails and human oversight can help distributors scale AI responsibly while controlling spend and maintaining accountability.

Mergers & Acquisitions

What Buyers Want in a More Selective Distribution M&A Market

Distribution deal activity remains resilient, but buyers are applying greater scrutiny to margins, recurring revenue and competitive differentiation. PMCF’s Joe Wagner explains which assets are commanding premiums, how acquisition priorities are changing and what prospective sellers should do now.

Research

NAW Research: Growth, Data Center Boom Fuels Distributor Optimism Amid Tariff Concerns

The 2Q26 NAW-Baird Industrial Distribution Survey reveals what distributors are most excited — and most concerned — about over the next 12 months, from demand recovery to geopolitical uncertainty.

Operations

Why Construction Estimates Fail, and How Distributors Can Make Them More Reliable

Construction estimates often fail because labor, pricing, freight and lead-time assumptions become outdated before purchasing begins. This article explains how distributors can provide the real-time market intelligence, transparent quotes and delivery planning customers need to reduce budget surprises and build more reliable project estimates.

Economic Trends

MDM Forecast: August Update

After five straight considerable upward revisions to the industry’s 2026 revenue outlook, our latest Forecast was comparatively quiet at the top line. Oil & Gas gave back some of its recent surge, but broad upgrades elsewhere kept the overall forecast moving slightly higher. Get your much more valuable sector-specific revenue forecasts here.

This category can only be viewed by members. To view this category, sign up by purchasing MDM Premium Subscription (monthly) or MDM Premium Subscription (annual).

Data & Analytics

Is Data Really Modernization, or Just Lipstick on a Pig?

Economic Trends

August U.S. Wholesale Sales Jump 1.8% as Broad Gains Continue

Strategy

What Global Industrial’s Trade Show Revealed about its Customer Growth Strategy

Pricing

The Tariff Pricing Hangover Distributors Must Fix Before 2027

Surcharges and price increases that were never meant to be permanent may still be sitting in distributors’ price books. It may be time to revisit what still holds up — and what doesn’t.

Mergers & Acquisitions

September M&A Roundup: Rexel, Watsco, ORS Lead the Way

Get our rundown of every deal we published during September, along with our updated monthly deal count and breakdown of year-to-date transactions by product category.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Inside Rexel’s North American M&A Push: Buying Scale and Specialization

Strategy

ADI’s Next Test: Turning Integration Into Profit and Cash

Strategy

Inside ADI’s Growth Model: Digital, Exclusive Brands and a Bigger Share of the Job

Fastenal Quietly Acquired an AI Startup as Distribution Races to Scale

Economic Trends

MDM Forecast: September Update

Strategy

ADI Global Distribution is Finally on Its Own. Now Comes the Hard Part

Economic Trends

July U.S. Wholesale Sales Rebound Broadly as Inventories Jump

Pricing

Three Clocks Started When Your Supplier Raised Costs. Your Team is Watching Only One

Mergers & Acquisitions

August M&A Roundup: Busy Month Led by Parts Authority, Hillman, SRS and Grainger

Pricing

Your Supplier Costs Went Up. How Long Did Your Pricing Lag Behind?

The Hidden Cost of AI Agents: Why Model Routing Is the Real Advantage

Mergers & Acquisitions

What Buyers Want in a More Selective Distribution M&A Market

Research

NAW Research: Growth, Data Center Boom Fuels Distributor Optimism Amid Tariff Concerns

Operations

Why Construction Estimates Fail, and How Distributors Can Make Them More Reliable

Economic Trends

MDM Forecast: August Update

Preparing an Industrial Distributor for Exit

Download this white paper for practical guidance on what industrial distribution owners should be…

Think Like a Criminal. Defend Like a Pro.

Learn how criminals evaluate your facility and what you can do to close security…

Strategic Planning & Future Growth Playbook for Manufacturers

Growth opportunities are evolving quickly for manufacturers. Expansion, modernization, diversification, and acquisitions can all…

The $250K Lead That Almost Got Away: What changes when your whole team sees the same data

See how a fast-growing HVAC distributor gave every rep real-time account intelligence — and turned…

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Analysis: Fastenal’s Strong 3Q Gains Meet a Softer Finish

Is Data Really Modernization, or Just Lipstick on a Pig?

August U.S. Wholesale Sales Jump 1.8% as Broad Gains Continue

What Global Industrial’s Trade Show Revealed about its Customer Growth Strategy

The Tariff Pricing Hangover Distributors Must Fix Before 2027

September M&A Roundup: Rexel, Watsco, ORS Lead the Way

Inside Rexel’s North American M&A Push: Buying Scale and Specialization

ADI’s Next Test: Turning Integration Into Profit and Cash

Inside ADI’s Growth Model: Digital, Exclusive Brands and a Bigger Share of the Job

Fastenal Quietly Acquired an AI Startup as Distribution Races to Scale

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK REPORTS

NAW 3Q26 Forecast Report

MDM 2Q26 Forecast Report

Premium Monthly

MDM September 2026 Premium Monthly Intelligence Brief

MDM August 2026 Premium Monthly Intelligence Brief

Market Insight Reports

NAW 2Q26 MarketPulse Report

NAW 2Q26 M&A Report

Case Studies

MDM Case Study: Grainger

MDM Case Study: Stellar Industrial Supply

Preparing an Industrial Distributor for Exit

Think Like a Criminal. Defend Like a Pro.

Strategic Planning & Future Growth Playbook for Manufacturers

The $250K Lead That Almost Got Away: What changes when your whole team sees the same data

Market Prospector

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