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Description of the Business	3 Months Ended
Description of the Business	Mar. 31, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Description of the Business	DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS Graybar Electric Company, Inc. (“Graybar”, “Company”, "we", "our", or "us") is a New York corporation, incorporated in 1925. We are engaged in the distribution of electrical and communications and data networking products and are a provider of related supply chain management and logistics services. We primarily serve customers in the construction, industrial & utility, and commercial, institutional and government ("CIG") vertical markets, with products and services that support new construction, infrastructure updates, building renovation, facility maintenance, repair and operations ("MRO"), and original equipment manufacturers ("OEM"). We purchase all of the products we sell from others, and we neither manufacture nor contract to manufacture any products we sell. Our business activity is primarily based in the United States (“U.S.”). We also have subsidiary operations with distribution facilities in Canada and Puerto Rico.