Fastenal Company (Nasdaq:FAST), distributor of industrial and construction supplies, reported sales for its second quarter ended June 30, 2024, were up 1.8% from the prior-year period.
June 2024 sales were down 6.1% from the same period a year ago.
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Fastenal experienced higher unit sales in the second quarter of 2024 primarily due to growth with larger customers and Onsite locations, defined as dedicated sales and service provided within or near a customer’s facility, opened in the last two years. Fastenal signed 107 new Onsite locations in the second quarter.
The impact of product pricing on net sales in the second quarter of 2024 was a decline from the same prior-year period. The decline reflects lower fastener pricing, a byproduct of lower transportation costs, and lower pricing in some safety and other product categories.
Daily sales were down 3% for fasteners in the quarter, but up for safety supplies (7.1%) and other categories (3%). Manufacturing and Other End-Markets sales were up, while sales to Nonresidential Construction and Reseller markets fell in the quarter.
Fastenal attributes the contrast in performance of fastener versus non-fastener product lines to:
- Fasteners are heavily oriented to production of final goods which is more susceptible to weaker industrial production.
- Pricing for fasteners has decelerated faster than non-fastener products.
- Fastenal experienced faster growth with warehousing customers, primarily benefiting its safety product line.
Daily sales through its ecommerce business – sales made through an electronic data interface (EDI) or other types of technical integrations – and through web verticals, grew 25.5% in the second quarter of 2024 and represented 28.7% of total sales in the period.
