ID's Top 5 Of The Week

Three Big 50 List companies reporting their 2014 fourth quarter and full year financials lead this week's list, while news from the 2015 Grainger Show and another West Coast Port shutdown were big items as well.

​Three Big 50 List companies reporting their 2014 fourth quarter and full year financials lead this week's list, while news from the 2015 Grainger Show and another West Coast Port shutdown were big items as well.

​Here's this week's Top 5:

Motion Industries' Q4 Profits Soar: On Tuesday, Motion Industries, No. 9 on the Big 50, and a subsidiary of General Parts Company, reported Q4 sales were up 10 percent year-over-year and operating profit soared 31.3 percent to $96.3 million. For the year, Motion's sales increased 7.7 percent to $4.7 billion, while profit was up 15.4 percent to $370 million.​

Grainger Making Push In Protective Footwear: Grainger, No. 3 on the Big 50, held its annual Grainger Show Feb. 15-17 in Orlando, FL, where the company made known it plans to expand its shoemobile network through recently-acquired Safety Solutions. At the show, Grainger VP of marketing and safety Nino Granatiero said the company will soon roll out a safety matrix tool to its salespeople for use during customer visits, and that Grainger will deploy 14 more shoemobiles this year to expand Safety Solutions' network, along with another 14 in 2016. There are also plans to expand the service along the West Coast.

West Coast Ports Shut Down During Holiday Weekend: The ongoing contract dispute between dockworkers and port officials on the West Coast took another turn for the worse last week as 29 ports were shutdown for a second straight weekend. This time it was more drastic than the former, as the ports were shut down for four out of five days, including President's Day Monday. The ports were open Friday, and resumed operations Tuesday.

Lawson Products Posts Q4, 2014 Sales Increase, Net Loss: Chicago-based Lawson Products, No. 37 on the Big 50, reported its quarterly financials Thursday, highlighted by a 6.9 percent sales growth, but a $2.7 net loss. For the year, sales grew 6.0 percent to $285.7 million, though the company took a net loss of $4.37 in 2014. Operating expenses increased 6.2 percent in 2014.

MRC Global Q4 Sales And Profit Jump, Gives Cautious Outlook: MRC Global, No. 7 on the Big 50 List, reported quarterly financials Thursday afternoon, led by Q4 sales of $1.51 billion, a 12.5 percent year-over-year increase. Net income jumped 33.9 percent to $31.2 million. Sales in the U.S. were up 14.5 percent to $1.16 billion.​ For the full year, MRC's 2014 total revenue was a record $5.933 billion. Net income was $144 million, which is third-best in company history.

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