Here's Where Industrial Distributors, Suppliers Landed on the 2021 Fortune 500

See how far major industrial distributors and manufacturers moved up or down the annual who's who of corporations.

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Fortune

On June 2, Fortune unveiled its annual Fortune 500 — the publication's highly-regarded who's who of the largest companies in the United States, ranked by 2020 fiscal revenue. For the 67th edition of the list, its revenue threshold was $5.4 billion, which was down 5 percent from 2020. 

Companies on the Fortune 500 comprise two-thirds of the US GDP, accounting for $13.8 trillion in combined revenue (down 3 percent from 2020), $859 billion in profits (down 30 percent), $32.7 trillion in market value (up 60 percent) and employ 29.1 million worldwide. Fortune also noted that 41 companies on the list have a female CEO — an all-time high.

Fortune500 2021 IssueFortuneWhile the COVID-19 pandemic certainly jossled corporations' year-over-year revenues, the top of the Fortune 500 looks very similar to recent years. Walmart topped the list for a ninth-straight year at $559 billion in 2020 revenue, while Amazon.com held onto its No. 2 spot with $386 billion (up 38 percent). Apple, CVS Health and UnitedHealth Group were Nos. 3, 4 and 5, while Berkshire Hathaway, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, Alphabet and Exxon Mobile rounded out the top 10.

Starting in 2015, I've been tracking the Fortune 500 — which actually lists out to 1,000 — to see where industrial distributors and major industrial products suppliers appear on the list. There's always been five to seven industrial distributors on the list in that time, and it's the same case for 2021, as six firms on the 2021 Fortune 500 meet Industrial Distribution's definition as an 'industrial distributor': a distribution firm that derives the majority of its revenue from the sale of products that keep North American manufacturers running.

As for industrial distributors, here's where they rank on the 2021 Fortune 500 and their 2020 revenue:

  • #173: Genuine Parts Company, $17.38 billion. GPC is the parent company of Motion - No. 3 on ID's 2020 Big 50 List. It also owns NAPA Auto Parts.
  • #245: WESCO International, $12.33 billion. WESCO essentially doubled in size from 2019 though its 2020 acquisition of Anixter International, boosting its revenue by 47.5 percent and sending it 134 spots higher on the Fortune 500. WESCO's industrial products sales charted it at No. 11 on ID's Big 50 List list year.
  • #258: Grainger, $11.80 billion. Grainger, No. 1 on ID's Big 50 List, moved up 20 spots on the Fortune 500 from a year ago.
  • #479: Fastenal, $5.65 billion. Fastenal jumped 46 spots from a year ago.
  • #701: Applied Industrial Technologies, $3.25 billion. Applied fell one spot from a year ago.
  • #712: MSC Industrial Supply, $3.19 billion. MSC moved up nine spots from a year ago.

And here's where other distributors/wholesalers on our radar ranked:

  • #102: Arrow Electronics
  • #168: Avnet
  • #399: Graybar
  • #420: Beacon Roofing Supply
  • #524: Watsco
  • #655: ScanSource
  • #727: BlueLinx

As for major industrial suppliers and retailers relavent to industrial distributors, here's where they checked in:

  • #2: Amazon, $386.06 billion
  • #18: The Home Depot, $132.11 billion
  • #31: Lowe's, $89.60 billion
  • #38: General Electric, $79.62 billion
  • #54: Boeing, $58.16 billion
  • #78: Caterpillar, $41.75 billion
  • #88: Deere, $35.54 billion
  • #94: Honeywell, $32.64 billion
  • #141: International Paper, $20.58 billion
  • #149: Nucor, $20.14 billion
  • #150: Cummins, $19.81 billion
  • #181: Emerson Electric, $16.79 billion
  • #223: Parker-Hannifin, $13.70 billion
  • #240: Illinois Tool Works, $12.57 billion
  • #269: Crown Holdings, $11.58 billion
  • #310: United States Steel, $9.74 billion
  • #312: ODP Corp. (Office Depot), $9.71 billion
  • #343: Reliance Steel & Aluminum, $8.81 billion
  • #350: Builders FirstSource, $8.56 billion
  • #387: Weyerhaeuser, $7.53 billion
  • #413: Owens Corning, $7.06 billion
  • #440: Rockwell Automation, $6.33 billion
  • #533: Ingersoll Rand, $4.91 billion
  • #623: Snap-on, $3.94 billion
  • #643: Flowserve, $3.73 billion
  • #669: Timken, $3.51 billion
  • #763: Regal Beloit, $2.91 billion
  • #782: Hyster-Yale, $2.81 billion
  • #787: Louisiana-Pacific, $2.79 billion
  • #809: Lincoln Electric, $2.66 billion
  • #836: HIllenbrand, $2.52 billion
  • #845: Generac, $2.49 billion
  • #934: Nordson, $2.12 billion
  • #960: Rexnord, $1.98 billion
  • #988: Kennametal, $1.89 billion

Now, this is by no means a complete list of every supplier relevant to industrial distributors. For example, I didn't include companies that Fortune categorized in its 'Aerospace & Defense,' 'Energy', and 'Motor Vehicles & Parts' industries, as essentially everyone in those subsets are relevant to industrial distributors and would make this list recap far too extensive. Since I just meant to provide a snapshot of the list, I only included the company's I determined to have the most broad appeal. To view the full Fortune 500, which is sortable by industry, click here.

Speaking of lists, ID's 2021 Big 50 List isn't far away. Starting in early July, we'll send our pool of contacts our Big 50 survey that can be used to provide all needed information. Stay tuned!

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