Industrial Equipment Wholesalers Industry Profile

The US industrial equipment wholesalers industry consists of about 25,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $145 billion. Major companies include MSC Industrial and the wholesale operations of manufacturers such as General Electric and NACCO Materials Handling Group. The industry is highly fragmented: the 50 largest companies account for about 25 percent of industry revenue.

Top industrial machinery distributors globally include Brammer (UK) and China National Machinery Import & Export Corporation as well as the distribution arms of major manufacturers such as Toyota (Japan), Voith (Germany), KION (Germany), and Yale (UK).

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand depends heavily on US manufacturing activity. Profitability depends on product selection and efficient operations. Large companies have economies of scale in advertising and sales programs. Small companies can compete effectively by specializing in particular industries, end-use applications, or geographical areas, and by offering special services. The industry is capital-intensive: average annual revenue per employee is about $530,000.

Imports are an important source of product for industrial machinery wholesalers. Major sources of imports are Germany, Japan, China, and Canada.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major products are general purpose machinery such as pumps and engines (about 30 percent of revenue), oil well, oil refinery, and pipeline machinery (about 13 percent of revenue), and material handling equipment (10 percent). Other products include manufacturing machinery, machine tools, and oil field equipment. Distribution of used machinery accounts for about 2 percent of industry revenue.

Suppliers are machinery manufacturers or ...