The fact that this year’s list shows eight dealers reporting a drop in sales may look disturbing at first compared with the PS100’s showing in 2013 and 2012, but note that the majority of the declines in 2014 amounted to 3% or less. And even the dealers who retreated are predicting that conditions will improve, particularly in the new-home market—86% of the responding dealers predict sales from that group will increase. Optimism abounded as well with regard to the remodeling, multifamily, and commercial markets. Meanwhile, the predictions for component manufacturing and installed sales tended toward staying the same in 2014 rather than growing.
Acquired Tastes
There’s a strong connection this year between acquisition activity and placement on the PS100’s lists of biggest sales and employment increases. The top three sales increases and top five payroll rises all were largely the result of M&A work (and for SRS, a lot of greenfield openings). Meanwhile, several of the sales declines appear related to lumber prices, while the companies with the biggest drops in employment all had their own special reasons for cutting staff.
Five biggest sales increases by percent
Overall PS100 rank
Company Name
2014 total sales ($ millions)
2013 total sales ($ millions)
Percent rise
16
Kodiak Building Partners, Littleton, CO
$395.8
$157.0
152%
95
The Detering Company, Houston, TX
$33.2
$16.3
104%
7
US LBM Holdings, Green Bay, WI
$1,416.0
$790.0
79%
77
Tibbetts Lumber, St. Petersburg, FL
$57.7
$39.6
46%
34
Forge Lumber/Sims Lohman, Erlanger, KY
$153.0
$109.0
40%
Six biggest sales declines by percent
Overall PS100 rank
Company Name
2014 total sales ($ millions)
2013 total sales ($ millions)
Percent decrease
56
Reliable Wholesale Lumber, Huntington Beach, CA
$131.0
$142.0
-8%
58
Franklin Building Supply, Boise, ID
$105.0
$110.0
-5%
89
Louis J. Grasmick Lumber, Baltimore, MD
$43.0
$45.0
-4%
55
Star Lumber & Supply, Wichita, KS
$107.0
$110.3
-3%
25
Shelter Products, Portland, OR
$256.0
$263.0
-3%
49
Lezzer Lumber, Curwensville, PA
$111.6
$115.2
-3%
Biggest hiring increases
Overall PS100 rank
Company Name
Total employees (2014)
Total employees (2013)
Difference
7
US LBM Holdings, Green Bay, WI
3,562
2,232
1,330
1
ABC Supply, Beloit, WI
7,690
6,784
906
6
Builders FirstSource, Dallas, TX
3,800
3,330
470
16
Kodiak Building Partners, Littleton, CO
795
340
455
11
SRS Distribution, McKinney, TX
1,600
1,200
400
Biggest hiring decreases
Overall PS100 rank
Company Name
Total employees (2014)
Total employees (2013)
Difference
2
ProBuild, Denver, CO
10,116
10,230
-114
27
E.C. Barton & Company, Jonesboro, AR
670
700
-30
32
Idaho Pacific Lumber, Boise, ID
110
137
-27
57
Hayward Lumber, Monterey, CA
202
216
-14
25
Shelter Products, Portland, OR
93
105
-12
Where PS100 Companies Get Their Sales
Averages can be misleading when you report on the ProSales 100. When you compute the average share of business by customer group for each of the 93 PS100 members that provided breakdowns, the "typical" respondent gets 31% of its business from single-family custom or spec homes and just 6% from specialty contractors. But there's no typical PS100 member; the group's members vary dramatically by size and specialty. Thus, if you multiply each company's customer percentages by the firm's total revenue, the picture changes. In terms of who delivers dollars to the entire PS100 membership that gave category breakdowns, only 24% comes from small builders. Meanwhile an outsized 17 comes from specialty contractors. The 93 dealers' numbers analyzed here account for $32.05 billion of the $38.7 billion in 2014 sales reported by the entire PS100.
Doubling Down on Outside Reps
At the 95 of the ProSales 100 companies that provided information about their outside sales reps, OSRs accounted on average for about 13% of their total staff increases. But at these five companies, the investment in outside reps proportionately was much higher. In three cases, the number of new reps topped the overall rise in staff.
Companies with high investments in outside reps
Company
2014 total sales (millions)
OSRs
Sales/OSR (millions)
OSR staff increase
Total staff increase
OSR gain as % of staff gain
Hancock Lumber
$125.6
26
$4.8
3
1
300%
Harvey Building Products
$405.0
26
$4.8
3
1
300%
Beacon Roofing Supply
$2,326.9
359
$6.5
65
50
130%
Honsador Group
$142.8
24
$6.0
4
4
100%
Arlington Coal & Lumber
$63.0
21
$3.0
2
2
100%
Sales by Yard, Employee
ProSales 100 dealers with at least $25 million in sales per facility
Overall PS100 rank
Company Name
2014 total sales ($ millions)
Total number of facilities
Sales per facility ($ millions)
41
Graber Post Buildings, Montgomery, IN
$125.0
1
$125.00
47
Builders Supply, Omaha, NE
$115.0
1
$115.00
56
Reliable Wholesale Lumber, Huntington Beach, CA
$131.0
2
$65.50
72
Gutherie Lumber, Livonia, MI
$57.7
1
$57.70
18
Golden State Lumber, Petaluma, CA
$339.0
6
$56.50
25
Shelter Products, Portland, OR
$256.0
5
$51.20
89
Louis J. Grasmick Lumber, Baltimore, MD
$43.0
1
$43.00
86
Texas Plywood, Grand Prairie, TX
$42.6
1
$42.60
90
Oldham Lumber, Dallas, TX
$40.0
1
$40.00
20
Matheus Lumber, Woodinville, WA
$279.0
7
$39.86
22
National Lumber, Mansfield, MA
$279.5
8
$34.94
97
Yoder's Building Supply, Fair Play, SC
$34.0
1
$34.00
68
Mans Lumber & Millwork, Trenton, MI
$67.0
2
$33.50
42
Gilcrest/Jewett Lumber, Waukee, IA
$121.0
4
$30.25
21
Ganahl Lumber, Anaheim, CA
$291.0
10
$29.10
61
Robert Bowden Inc., Marietta, GA
$78.8
3
$26.27
91
Ashby Lumber, Berkeley, CA
$52.0
2
$26.00
80
Christensen Lumber, Fremont, NE
$51.0
2
$25.50
50
Scherer Bros. Lumber, Brooklyn Park, MN
$118.0
5
$23.60
40
Professional Builders Supply, Morrisville, NC
$134.0
6
$22.33
37
TW Perry, Gaithersburg, MD
$146.3
7
$20.90
71
Building Solutions, Tulsa, OK
$60.4
3
$20.13
73
Moynihan Lumber, North Reading, MA
$60.4
3
$20.13
26
Riverhead Building Supply, Calverton, NY
$260.6
13
$20.05
ProSales 100 companies with at least $500,000 in sales per employee
