Industrial and construction supplies distributor Fastenal issued its May sales report on June 6, showing the company’s weakest daily sales growth in nearly two years.

Fastenal reported May 2023 net sales of $649 million, up 10.2% year-over-year, with daily sales up 5.2%. While still a solid growth figure for the company, historically, that was its weakest daily sales growth since June 2021’s 1.7%. 

As evidence of just how much tougher the year-to-year comparison is for industrial distributors in the current quarter, Fastenal’s daily sales growth a year earlier in May 2022 was 17.6%.

Fastenal’s May 2023 daily sales figure was up 0.7% from April/

Other notes from Fastenal’s May 2023 sales report:

By geography:

• Daily sales in the U.S. grew 4.0% year-over-year (7.0% in April)
• Daily sales in Canada & Mexico grew 14.0% year-over-year (14.4% in April)
• Daily sales to the rest of international decreased 1.7% year-over-year (+3.9% in April)

By end market:

• Daily sales to manufacturing customers grew 9.7% year-over-year (13.0% in April)
• Daily sales to nonresidential construction customers decreased 9.5% (-8.2% in April)

By product line:

• Daily sales of fasteners grew decreased 0.6% year-over-year (+1.2% in April)
• Daily sales of safety products grew 6.8% year-over-year (10.1% in April)
• Daily sales of all other products grew 9.0% year-over-year (12.1% in April)

By customer/channel type:

• Daily sales to national accounts grew 9.0% year-over-year (13.0% in April)
• Daily sales to non-national accounts were flat (0.0%) year-over-year (1.0% in April)
• 71.0% of Fastenal’s national accounts grew sales year-over-year (78.0% in April)
• 52.0% of Fastenal’s public branches grew sales year-over-year (52.8% in April)

Headcount:

• Fastenal ended May with a total headcount of 22,886 — up 0.3% vs. April and up 6.7% year-over-year
• Total full-time selling personnel ended May at 14,808 — up 4.9% year-over-year and up 0.6% from April; total full-time non-selling personnel ended April at 5,578 — up 9.1% year-over-year and up 1.2% from April
• Total distribution/transportation personnel ended May at 3,034 — up 6.9% year-over-year and up 1.3% from April
• Total full-time manufacturing personnel ended May at 719 — up 7.5% year-over-year and up 0.8% from April
• Total full-time organizational support personnel ended May at 1,825 — up 13.8% year-over-year and up 1.3% from April