Information About the Industrial Supply Market

The industrial supply market describes the wholesale manufacturing, distribution and sales of industrial supplies. These are miscellaneous in the sense that they are not a part of other industries. They can include bearings, industrial diamonds, valves and fittings, rope, printer ink, bottles, crates and metal pails.

Specialties

• Companies in the industrial supply market can be bracketed into nine specialties. They are general-line industrial supplies, fasteners and fastening equipment, industrial tools, mechanical power-transmission supplies, industrial valves and fittings, hydraulic and pneumatic supplies, containers and supplies, welding supplies, and a category including diamonds, abrasives, ropes, cordage and mechanical rubber.

Organizations

• The Industrial Supply Association, or ISA, publishes reports on economic conditions and outlooks that affect the supply industry. So does the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, which also focuses on employment in the industry and topics such as compensation.

Performance

• In 2010 the group IBISWorld released a report saying that the United States industrial supply market was on the decline. It predicted slow sales over the next five years, with low-wage nations such as China becoming dominant in the market.