Winona, MN-based Fastenal — No. 7 on Industrial Distribution's Big 50 List — reported its 2018 February sales information on Tuesday, led by continued strong year-over-year (YoY) sales growth, with daily sales outpacing January's.
Fastenal posted total January sales of $372.8 million, up 14.8 percent year-over-year and on a daily basis. It marked the company's ninth-straight month with at least 12.0 percent daily sales growth YoY.
Here's how Fastenal's monthly daily sales year-over-year growth percentage has fared since the start of 2015:
|
|
Jan. |
Feb. |
Mar. |
Apr. |
May |
June |
July |
Aug. |
Sept. |
Oct. |
Nov. |
Dec. |
| 2018 | 12.0 | 14.8 | ||||||||||
|
2017 |
3.8 |
6.1 |
8.4 |
8.9 |
9.7 |
13.0 |
12.9 |
12.8 |
15.3 |
13.8 |
15.4 |
14.7 |
|
2016 |
3.3 |
2.6 |
0.0 |
3.8 |
1.1 |
0.0 |
2.1 |
0.3 |
2.8 |
3.9 |
1.2 |
3.2 |
|
2015 |
12.0 |
8.6 |
5.6 |
6.1 |
5.3 |
3.7 |
3.2 |
1.6 |
-0.3 |
-0.8 |
-1.1 |
-3.8 |
Fastenal's February daily sales increased 12.7 percent in the U.S. and 14.0 percent throughout North America.
By end market, February sales to manufacturing customers grew 15.9 percent, compared to 13.3 percent in January. Sales to non-residential construction customers grew 10.5 percent, compared to 7.9 percent in January.
By product line, Fastenal's February fastener sales grew 13.1 percent, compared to 10.1 percent in January. Sales of other products grew 16.3 percent in February, compared to 13.7 percent in January.
Fastenal ended February with a total company headcount of 20,982, up 417 from January (+2.0 percent) and up 6.1 percent YoY. Its February headcount includes 116 branch and Onsite full-time employees in connection to the company's 2017 acquisition of Manufacturers Supply Company. The company's branch and Onsite personnel count of 11,854 was up 305 from January (+2.6 percent) and up 6.8 percent YoY, while total selling personnel of 13,539 was up 314 from January (+2.4 percent) and up 7.1 percent YoY.
*As of January, Fastenal's monthly sales report no longer includes breakout statistics for number of branches opened or total branch count. In the company's Q4 and full year 2017 earnings report posted Jan. 17, the company had opened three branches in Q4 and closed 37, with its total public branch count at 2,383 at the end of the year.
