NECA Show Coverage

The Top 50 Electrical Distributors

Oct. 14, 2020

Check out the Top 50 electrical distributors in the United States for 2020. This list is a snapshot of the full list as revealed in the June 2020 edition of Electrical Wholesaling magazine, a sister publication to EC&M. Electrical Wholesaling's annual survey of the 200 largest distributors in the North American market by electrical product sales is a key reference point for the size, scope and changing fortunes of the electrical distribution market as a whole. View the full list and article here.

This annual ranking of North America’s largest distributors of electrical supplies always provides an interesting measure of the electrical market, both in terms of which companies are growing the fastest; acquiring companies; and the industry issues demanding the most attention from industry executives.

Accounting for an estimated $81.4 billion in sales — 69% of EW’s $117.5 billion in estimated 2019 total sales through distributors of electrical supplies — the 2020 Top 200 electrical distributors possess an enormous amount of clout. The five largest distributors on the list (Sonepar, WESCO, Graybar Electric, Consolidated Electrical Distributors (CED) and Rexel) continue to increase their market share. EW estimates that these companies had an estimated $39 billion in revenue — 33% of total industry sales.

About the Author

Jim Lucy | Editor-in-Chief, Electrical Wholesaling & Electrical Marketing

Over the past 40-plus years, hundreds of Jim’s articles have been published in Electrical Wholesaling, Electrical Marketing newsletter and Electrical Construction & Maintenance magazine on topics such as electric vehicles, solar and wind development, energy-efficient lighting and local market economics. In addition to his published work, Jim regularly gives presentations on these topics to C-suite executives, industry groups and investment analysts.

He launched a new subscription-based data product for Electrical Marketing that offers electrical sales potential estimates and related market data for more than 300 metropolitan areas. In 1999, he published his first book, “The Electrical Marketer’s Survival Guide” for electrical industry executives looking for an overview of key market trends.

While managing Electrical Wholesaling’s editorial operations, Jim and the publication’s staff won several Jesse H. Neal awards for editorial excellence, the highest honor in the business press, and numerous national and regional awards from the American Society of Business Press Editors. He has a master’s degree in communications and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Glassboro State College, Glassboro, N.J. (now Rowan University) and studied electrical design at New York University and graphic design at the School for Visual Arts.