Top 200 Distributors See Strong 2019 with Many Forecasting Growth of Better than +6%

Early responders in Electrical Wholesaling’s annual Top 200 survey of the largest electrical distributors in North America are quite optimistic about their 2019 business prospects.

Of the 51 distributors who provided a 2019 forecast, 65% (29 executives) expect growth of at least +6%, and 20% (10 executives) expect growth of better than +10%. Bruce Summerville, president of Inline Electric Supply, Huntsville, AL, was the most bullish with a forecast for +30% growth in 2019. Inline Electric Supply appears to be building on a strong 2018, as Summerville said his company took market share last year and enjoyed new growth from several branches established in 2017.

Few of the early respondents saw any signs of a recession in the near future. Larry Heimrath, chairman of G&G Electric Supply, New York, NY, has enjoyed the enormous amount of construction in Manhattan over the last few years and expects +5% growth this year. The company has been in on many of the big jobs, including Hudson Yards, the nation’s largest construction project, which is located a few blocks away from G&G Electric Supply’s headquarters. While Heimrath and his team have enjoyed the construction surge, he says, “New York City is in a once in a lifetime building boom and this will not extend beyond the next two-to-three years.

Doug Johnson, president, Johnson Electric Supply, Cincinnati, OH, expects a double-digit increase in his company’s 2019 sales. Although the company’s institutional and OEM business segments are strong right now, he sees some softening later in the year. “We are seeing some of the backlog for late 2019 shrink at our OEMs.  Capital spending for long-term goods is decaying.”