Sales by Product Line (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Sales by Product Line [Abstract]

Percentages Of Sales By Product Line

The percentages of our sales by product line were as follows:

Type	Introduced	2017	2016	2015
Fasteners(1)	1967	35.6%	36.6%	38.3%
Tools	1993	10.1%	9.9%	9.5%
Cutting tools	1996	5.8%	5.7%	5.6%
Hydraulics & pneumatics	1996	6.8%	6.9%	7.2%
Material handling	1996	6.3%	6.4%	6.5%
Janitorial supplies	1996	7.6%	7.6%	7.5%
Electrical supplies	1997	4.9%	4.8%	4.7%
Welding supplies	1997	4.6%	4.6%	4.7%
Safety supplies(2)	1999	15.2%	14.9%	13.9%
Metals	2001	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%
Direct ship(3)	2004	0.5%	0.5%	0.4%
Office supplies	2010	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
Other		2.0%	1.5%	1.1%
		100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

⁽¹⁾ Fastener product line represents fasteners and miscellaneous supplies.

⁽²⁾ The safety supplies product line has expanded, as a percentage of sales, in the last several years due to our industrial vending program.

⁽³⁾ Direct ship represents a cross section of products from the remaining product lines. The items included here represent certain items with historically low gross profit margins which are shipped directly from our distribution channel to our customers, bypassing our branch network.