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Description of the Business	9 Months Ended
Description of the Business	Sep. 30, 2014
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Description of the Business	DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS Graybar Electric Company, Inc. (“Graybar” or the “Company”) is a New York corporation, incorporated in 1925. The Company is engaged in the distribution of electrical, communications and data networking (“comm/data”) products and the provision of related supply chain management and logistics services, primarily to electrical and comm/data contractors, industrial plants, federal, state and local governments, commercial users, telephone companies, and power utilities in North America. All products sold by the Company are purchased by the Company from others, and the Company neither manufactures nor contracts to manufacture any products that it sells. The Company’s business activity is primarily with customers in the United States of America (“U.S.”). Graybar also has subsidiary operations with distribution facilities in Canada and Puerto Rico.