This issue marks our annual update of the top 40 largest industrial distributors and the largest distributors in 11 other sectors. The big are getting bigger. That is not entirely surprising given the economic rebound. Predictably, those distributors dependent on the construction industry are having the hardest time regenerating their growth rate. Ferguson/Wolseley Canada, still No. 1 no the Top 40 list at $9.4 billion in annual revenues, saw revenues shrink by more than 7 percent. HD Supply, No. 2 with $7.5 billion in annual revenues, grew just over 1 percent.

More importantly, our report on the state of the distribution …