Industrial Slowdown Doesn't Look Too Frightening
Distributor Fastenal is a harbinger for the rest of the sector. Costs are still high but stabilizing, the ability to source products is improving and hiring is on the upswing.
Fastenal’s sales growth is still in the double digits.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
Worried about a recession? Let industrial distributor Fastenal Co. offer some perspective.
The Winona, Minnesota-based company specializes in supplying factory-floor odds and ends to manufacturers and construction companies, and its earnings can often be a harbinger of the results its customers will report later this month. Fastenal said on Wednesday that demand was generally healthy but that there were certain signs of “softening” in May and June. Investors, who are on the lookout for any signs of deterioration in the economy, responded by sending Fastenal shares down about 5%.