Mark Brohan

The strategy is expected to focus on acquiring and combining automation distributors and related businesses into a larger specialty distribution company.

Chris Kelley most recently served as president of USABlueBook, a specialty distribution business within HD Supply.

The result is a cost structure moving against distributors at the product, fuel, and freight layers simultaneously.

Transportation and warehousing costs, a direct operational input for wholesale distributors, showed some of the sharpest movements in the April report.

For distributors, the practical steps are clear. Companies that imported directly and paid duties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act should be filing claims through the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries portal.

President and CEO Jay Geldmacher said the company exceeded expectations during the quarter despite ongoing economic uncertainty.

Chairman and CEO Brad Jacobs said the quarter reflected weaker conditions across the building products sector as well as continued investments in technology, staffing, and integration work.

The company is running parallel tracks: stabilizing the legacy MRC Global Oracle system while migrating 20 U.S. MRC Global locations focused on upstream and midstream activity to DNOW’s SAP platform.

The acquisition adds to continued consolidation across the electrical and industrial distribution sector as distributors seek greater scale, regional density, and stronger contractor relationships in high-growth markets.