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ECONOMIC OUTLOOK REPORTS
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.
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
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.
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’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.
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
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.
How has Singer Industrial grown into a 55-plus-company platform while preserving local leadership and culture? This MDM Case Study explores the industrial rubber, fluid power and automation distributor’s coordinated autonomy model, acquisition strategy and technology investments that are helping drive scale, efficiency and long-term growth.
Premium Articles
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This third of our four-part series explores why LSS AI belongs in margin management before it belongs in the warehouse.
Activity was the lightest its been so far in 2026, both in activity and size of deals done. Get our rundown of every deal we published about during June, along with our updated monthly deal count and breakdown of year-to-date transactions by product category
City Electric Supply’s new Industrial Automation Solutions launch shows how a distributor can turn customer demand, supplier alignment and internal branch support into a new service platform. With more than 700 branches across North America, learn why and how CES created the new offering.
3M’s new customer-facing AI tool gives industrial users direct access to technical product expertise — a move that signals how manufacturers are using digital tools to get closer to end customers.
Grainger’s product advantage is not just SKU count. It is the company’s ability to curate complexity through merchandising discipline, supplier management, private label, standardization and product data. That’s the focus in the second of this three-part Grainger deep dive.
This second of our four-part series explores why the most successful AI transformations are built on trust, control and domain expertise, not technology alone.
Our latest update shows a fourth straight considerable upward revision to the broader industry's 2026 forecast, driven again by oil & gas. Get your much more valuable sector-specific revenue forecasts here.
Grainger’s largest business is no longer just about supplying MRO products. Its High-Touch model is built around helping customers reduce procurement friction, inventory waste, labor strain and operational complexity. We explore that business unit in the first of a three-part deep dive series into the company that has long dominated MDM's Top Distributors Lists.
This piece analyzes recent MDM survey data to compare pricing power divergence between large and small distributors. It's measurable, and most small companies haven't seen it yet, says author Nelson Valderrama.
A healthy month saw Ferguson share news of six newly-added companies, while Rexel added a considerable Midwest booth with its latest bolt-on. Get our rundown of every deal we published about during May, along with our updated monthly deal count and breakdown of year-to-date transactions by product category.
New MDM data reveals that sub-$100M distributors face a fundamentally different margin threat than their larger peers — and the pressure is about to get worse.
Distributors say national players and PE-backed consolidation are challenging the competitive landscape. Check out commentary and survey results from the latest MDM-Baird Industrial Distribution Survey.
Our latest update shows another healthy upgrade for the U.S. wholesale distribution industry's 2026 annual revenues - skewed by oil & gas price assumptions as well as other inflationary impacts. Get your much more valuable sector-specific revenue forecasts here.
The third and final part of this series moves from insight to execution — showing how distributors can use RFM analysis, churn signals and customer lifecycle analytics to prioritize accounts, sharpen sales focus and build a more disciplined, data-driven growth engine.
Graybar Chairman, President and CEO Kathy Mazzarella — who also serves as NAW’s Chairman — recently joined NAW’s Distributors Deliver Podcast to discuss AI adoption, advocacy, organizational agility and leadership. The conversation offers distributors a roadmap for navigating disruption while preserving the human relationships that define the industry. Here’s our key takeaways and analysis.
QXO used a new investor Q&A document to outline how it plans to integrate Beacon and Kodiak, extract value from its pending TopBuild acquisition and continue building a tech-enabled building products distribution platform. We lay it all out and discuss what to watch for.
DNOW says MRC Global’s troubled U.S. ERP system has “stabilized” but remains unoptimized, as the distributor details operational improvements, lingering financial impacts and signs of recovery following months of disruption tied to the Oracle rollout. We detail and analyze the latest updates here.
Grainger delivered its strongest quarter in three years with accelerating sales growth, expanding margins and broad-based customer demand. This deep dive breaks down the distributor’s key 1Q26 metrics, pricing and tariff actions, earnings call commentary, updated guidance and what the results signal about industrial market conditions.
In an analysis of the latest Baird-MDM Industrial Distribution survey, distributors signaled concern that geopolitical conflict, such as the Iran War, could trigger cascading effects across pricing, operating costs and customer demand.
Distributors know their markets — but struggle to turn that insight into growth. Part 2 of this deep dive series breaks down the data foundations needed to connect market potential to account-level action, align sales teams and build a more effective growth engine.
This third of our four-part series explores why LSS AI belongs in margin management before it belongs in the warehouse.
Activity was the lightest its been so far in 2026, both in activity and size of deals done. Get our rundown of every deal we published about during June, along with our updated monthly deal count and breakdown of year-to-date transactions by product category
City Electric Supply’s new Industrial Automation Solutions launch shows how a distributor can turn customer demand, supplier alignment and internal branch support into a new service platform. With more than 700 branches across North America, learn why and how CES created the new offering.
3M’s new customer-facing AI tool gives industrial users direct access to technical product expertise — a move that signals how manufacturers are using digital tools to get closer to end customers.
Grainger’s product advantage is not just SKU count. It is the company’s ability to curate complexity through merchandising discipline, supplier management, private label, standardization and product data. That’s the focus in the second of this three-part Grainger deep dive.
This second of our four-part series explores why the most successful AI transformations are built on trust, control and domain expertise, not technology alone.
Our latest update shows a fourth straight considerable upward revision to the broader industry's 2026 forecast, driven again by oil & gas. Get your much more valuable sector-specific revenue forecasts here.
Grainger’s largest business is no longer just about supplying MRO products. Its High-Touch model is built around helping customers reduce procurement friction, inventory waste, labor strain and operational complexity. We explore that business unit in the first of a three-part deep dive series into the company that has long dominated MDM's Top Distributors Lists.
This piece analyzes recent MDM survey data to compare pricing power divergence between large and small distributors. It's measurable, and most small companies haven't seen it yet, says author Nelson Valderrama.
A healthy month saw Ferguson share news of six newly-added companies, while Rexel added a considerable Midwest booth with its latest bolt-on. Get our rundown of every deal we published about during May, along with our updated monthly deal count and breakdown of year-to-date transactions by product category.
New MDM data reveals that sub-$100M distributors face a fundamentally different margin threat than their larger peers — and the pressure is about to get worse.
Distributors say national players and PE-backed consolidation are challenging the competitive landscape. Check out commentary and survey results from the latest MDM-Baird Industrial Distribution Survey.
Our latest update shows another healthy upgrade for the U.S. wholesale distribution industry's 2026 annual revenues - skewed by oil & gas price assumptions as well as other inflationary impacts. Get your much more valuable sector-specific revenue forecasts here.
The third and final part of this series moves from insight to execution — showing how distributors can use RFM analysis, churn signals and customer lifecycle analytics to prioritize accounts, sharpen sales focus and build a more disciplined, data-driven growth engine.
Graybar Chairman, President and CEO Kathy Mazzarella — who also serves as NAW’s Chairman — recently joined NAW’s Distributors Deliver Podcast to discuss AI adoption, advocacy, organizational agility and leadership. The conversation offers distributors a roadmap for navigating disruption while preserving the human relationships that define the industry. Here’s our key takeaways and analysis.
QXO used a new investor Q&A document to outline how it plans to integrate Beacon and Kodiak, extract value from its pending TopBuild acquisition and continue building a tech-enabled building products distribution platform. We lay it all out and discuss what to watch for.
DNOW says MRC Global’s troubled U.S. ERP system has “stabilized” but remains unoptimized, as the distributor details operational improvements, lingering financial impacts and signs of recovery following months of disruption tied to the Oracle rollout. We detail and analyze the latest updates here.
Grainger delivered its strongest quarter in three years with accelerating sales growth, expanding margins and broad-based customer demand. This deep dive breaks down the distributor’s key 1Q26 metrics, pricing and tariff actions, earnings call commentary, updated guidance and what the results signal about industrial market conditions.
In an analysis of the latest Baird-MDM Industrial Distribution survey, distributors signaled concern that geopolitical conflict, such as the Iran War, could trigger cascading effects across pricing, operating costs and customer demand.
Distributors know their markets — but struggle to turn that insight into growth. Part 2 of this deep dive series breaks down the data foundations needed to connect market potential to account-level action, align sales teams and build a more effective growth engine.
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