Distribution Industry News

CEO Eddie Lehner said demand remained uneven across industrial markets but was supported by continued investment in data centers and power generation, along with gains in market share following the merger.

Distributors that can improve customer productivity, simplify complex purchasing decisions and strengthen long-term relationships appear better positioned to gain market share than those relying primarily on price.

Chefs’ Warehouse reaffirmed its full-year outlook, projecting 2026 sales of $4.50 billion to $4.60 billion and gross profit of $1.10 billion to $1.13 billion, reflecting continued confidence in demand from independent restaurants and other foodservice customers.

SiteOne expects organic daily sales growth to range from flat to 1% for the full year, supported by continued pricing actions and commercial initiatives. The company also expects acquisitions to remain an important source of growth in 2026.

Watsco said it has invested more than $250 million in digital technology over the past five years, including customer-facing applications, internal operating systems, and emerging AI capabilities.

Since its founding in 2014, GrubMarket has completed more than 100 acquisitions of produce wholesalers, food distributors and specialty food suppliers in the United States and Canada.

UPS has completed its transition away from low-margin ecommerce volume and is now competing more aggressively for the freight many distributors ship.

RNDC was once the nation’s second-largest beverage alcohol distributor, operating in as many as 40 states and serving more than 2,000 suppliers and 170,000 customers before a series of market exits reduced its footprint.

The divestiture is the latest step in Honeywell’s restructuring strategy as the company narrows its focus to industrial automation, software, and autonomous operations.