快扣 (FAST) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to the Fastenal 2024 Q1 Earnings Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It's now my pleasure to turn the call over to Taylor Ranta of the Fastenal Company. Please go ahead, Taylor.

您好，歡迎您參加 Fastenal 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。 （操作說明）提醒您，本次會議正在錄音。現在，我很高興將電話會議交給 Fastenal 公司的 Taylor Ranta 女士。 Taylor，請開始。

Welcome to the Fastenal Company 2024 First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. This call will be hosted by Dan Florness, our President and Chief Executive Officer; and Holden Lewis, our Chief Financial Officer. The call will last for up to 1 hour, and we'll start with a general overview of our quarterly results and operations, with the remainder of the time being open for questions and answers.

歡迎參加 Fastenal 公司 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。本次會議將由公司總裁兼執行長 Dan Florness 和財務長 Holden Lewis 主持。會議時長約為 1 小時，我們將首先概述季度業績和營運情況，剩餘時間將用於問答環節。

Today's conference call is a proprietary of Fastenal presentation and is being recorded by Fastenal. No recording, reproduction, transmission or distribution of today's call is permitted without Fastenal's consent. This call is being audio simulcast on the Internet via the Fastenal Investor Relations homepage, investor.fastenal.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on the website until June 1, 2024, at midnight Central Time.

本次電話會議內容為Fastenal公司專有資訊，並由Fastenal公司錄音。未經Fastenal公司許可，嚴禁對本次電話會議進行任何形式的錄音、複製、傳輸或散佈。本次電話會議將透過Fastenal公司投資者關係網站investor.fastenal.com進行網路直播。網路直播回放將於美國中部時間2024年6月1日午夜前在該網站上提供。

As a reminder, today's conference call may include statements regarding the company's future plans and prospects. These statements are based on our current expectations, and we undertake no duty to update them. It is important to note that the company's actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from anticipated results are contained in the company's latest earnings release and periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and we encourage you to review those factors carefully.

再次提醒，今天的電話會議可能包含有關公司未來計劃和前景的聲明。這些聲明是基於我們目前的預期，我們不承擔更新這些聲明的義務。需要注意的是，公司的實際業績可能與預期業績有重大差異。可能導致實際業績與預期業績有差異的因素已列於本公司最新的獲利報告和定期向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中，我們建議您仔細閱讀這些因素。

I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Dan Florness.

現在我將把電話交給丹‧弗洛內斯先生。

Thank you, Taylor, and good morning, everybody, and thank you for joining us for our first quarter call. And I'm going to go right to the foot book, Page 3. And my comments on Page 3 can be summarized with 5 statements. First one is a tough quarter. Second one is tricky calendar. Third one is highlighting the customer expo. Third is strong performance on our growth drivers. And then the final is financially strong and that strength is continuing to build as we've seen in recent years.

謝謝泰勒，大家早安，謝謝各位參加我們第一季的電話會議。我將直接跳到報告的第三頁。我對第三頁的發言可以概括為五點。第一點是本季充滿挑戰。第二點是日程安排比較複雜。第三點是重點介紹客戶博覽會。第四點是我們的成長驅動因素表現強勁。最後一點是財務狀況穩健，而且正如我們近年來所看到的，這種穩健性還在持續增強中。

Going back to the tough quarter. So we grew about 2%. Coming into the quarter, we anticipated a number that was probably in that 4% neighborhood. And the tricky calendar was really a function of January and February are seasonally weaker months for us. Then March starts to pick up as we move into the spring. So having 2 days shifted out of March and into January and February, respectively, wasn't helpful, but that was a known event coming into the quarter. And having the quarter end, Good Friday being in March versus in April is negative. But that's probably more of a function of trying to rationalize and figure out things on the quarter.

回到這個艱難的季度。我們成長了大約2%。季度初，我們預期成長率大概在4%左右。棘手的日程安排主要是因為一月和二月通常是我們的淡季。隨著春季的到來，三月開始回升。所以，把三月的兩天分別挪到一月和二月，這確實不利，但這是我們在季度初就預料到的情況。此外，季度末的耶穌受難日在三月而不是四月，也造成了負面影響。但這可能更多是我們在試圖合理化和分析季度情況的結果。

The truth of the matter is the core issue remains sluggish demand. A positive we saw is after 16 consecutive months of sub-50 Purchasing Manager's Index, we broke above 50 in the month of March. And the other day, I chatted with Holden and I said, how long have they been checking the PMI statistics and he said, yes, since early '70s. So we did a look and there's been 2 periods that have had longer duration of 16 months. The one would have been in the early 1980s, I believe it was a 19-month duration. The other was in the dotcom meltdown year of the early 2000 that was about a 17 or 18-month duration.

事實是，核心問題仍然是需求疲軟。我們看到的一個正面訊號是，在採購經理人指數（PMI）連續1​​6個月低於50之後，3月份該指數突破了50。前幾天，我和霍爾頓聊天，問他他們從什麼時候開始關注PMI數據，他說從70年代就開始了。我們查閱了一下，發現有兩個時期持續時間超過了16個月。一個是80年代初，我記得持續了19個月。另一個是2000年初網路泡沫破裂的那一年，持續了大約17或18個月。

Now in full disclosures, they were a little bit longer. They were actually more severe as far as where it went into -- how far into the 40s that it went or even into the upper 30s. There were a few other periods, obviously, the '08, '09 period, much shorter in duration, but pretty steep. But we feel positive about the 50 in March, and time will tell if it's a head fake or if it's real. But that speaks to what we think might be happening as we move into the second half of the year.

坦白說，之前的幾次持續時間都更長。實際上，那幾次的程度也更嚴重──最高氣溫達到了40多度，甚至接近30度。當然，還有其他一些時期，例如2008年和2009年那段時間，持續時間短得多，但氣溫也相當高。不過，我們對3月的50度高溫持樂觀態度，至於這究竟是虛晃一槍還是真的會到來，時間會給出答案。但這確實反映了我們對下半年可能出現的情況的看法。

The customer expo, which we'll host next week on the 17th and 18th in Nashville, Tennessee. I'm upbeat about that from the standpoint. One aspect that's challenged us in recent years with customer acquisition has been the fact that starting about 20 years ago, we started doing an employee event or we bring employees in, engage with our suppliers, and it was a great opportunity to hold in the month of December, some planning discussions for the next calendar year but also have a trade show where employees get to interact directly with suppliers and learn about their products, learn about their supply chain.

我們將於下週17日和18日在田納西州納許維爾舉辦客戶博覽會。對此我感到非常樂觀。近年來，我們在客戶獲取方面面臨的一個挑戰是，大約20年前，我們開始舉辦員工活動，邀請員工與供應商交流。這為我們提供了一個絕佳的機會，讓我們在12月舉辦下一年度的規劃討論會，同時也舉辦了一場貿易展覽會，讓員工能夠直接與供應商互動，了解他們的產品和供應鏈。

And also over time, learn more and more about some of the FMI devices that are coming out, which started up in the kind of the 2007, 2008 time frame when we started vending. What we learned a number of years into it that a lot of employees want to bring their customers to this. They thought to be a great means to expose our customer to their supply chain. And we started doing that probably 5, 6 years later, and we've been doing that for many years In 2020 and 2021 because of COVID, we had to shut down the event. And we felt the impact of that over time, and it shows up in things like on-site signings. It shows up in how we're engaging with that customer.

隨著時間的推移，我們對一些新推出的FMI設備了解得越來越多。這些設備大約在2007、2008年我們開始銷售的時候就已經出現了。幾年後，我們發現很多員工都希望帶他們的客戶來參加。他們認為這是讓客戶了解其供應鏈的絕佳途徑。大約5、6年後，我們也開始這樣做，而且已經持續了很多年。 2020年和2021年，由於新冠疫情，我們不得不關閉了這項活動。隨著時間的推移，我們感受到了疫情的影響，這體現在現場簽名活動等方面，也體現在我們與客戶的互動方式上。

What I'm pleased to say is after restarting the event in 2022 and continuing it in '23 and '24, in 2024, we were surprised by the overbooked status of the show, and we've had to dramatically expand it. And Holden will touch on some of that in his comments about what that means for the second quarter as far as expenses. But we'll have 50% more people attending this year than we did the last year, and we'll have double the number of people attending this year than we did last year. I believe that speaks well to our ability to capture market share with that subset of customers.

我很高興地告訴大家，在2022年重啟展會，並在2023年和2024年繼續舉辦之後，2024年展會的超額預訂情況讓我們始料未及，我們不得不大幅擴大規模。霍爾頓將在談到這對第二季支出的影響時提及這一點。但今年的參加人數將比去年增加50%，是去年的兩倍。我相信這充分體現了我們有能力贏得這部分客戶的市場份額。

And that's been challenging us for the last several years because we just couldn't engage in the same way. So it's an expense issue for the second quarter. It's a really high-class expense issue for the second quarter. On the next page, I'll touch on growth drivers. So flipping to Page 4. Onsite, we had 102 signings during the quarter. So the number of active sites we had operating at the end of the quarter was up about 12% from what it was in the first quarter of last year. And our sales going through that channel grew low single digits, which tells me that's where we're seeing the demand issue play out in our numbers is because that number should be closer to what we're seeing in unit growth.

過去幾年，這一直困擾著我們，因為我們無法像以前那樣開展業務。所以，這造成了第二季的支出問題，而且是相當嚴重的支出問題。下一頁，我將談談成長驅動因素。現在翻到第四頁。本季度，我們在現場完成了102筆簽約。因此，截至本季末，我們營運的活躍站點數量比去年第一季成長了約12%。然而，透過該管道實現的銷售額僅實現了個位數低成長，這表明需求問題體現在我們的數據中，因為該數字應該更接近我們看到的單位成長。

The FMI Technology. We signed 105 devices a day, and I believe we've only had one quarter that we've ever done over 100. And if you think back to a few years ago, what we really challenged our team to do back in that 2017, 2018 time frame, we geared up our infrastructure to support 100 signings a day. And we challenge everybody to engage with our customer and to get there. And by 2022, we were doing about 83 a day. In 2023, we have grown that to about 98 a day. And those numbers are based on the average of the first 3 quarters of the year.

FMI Technology。我們每天簽約105台設備，而且我相信我們歷史上只有第一季的簽約量超過100台。回想幾年前，在2017年和2018年期間，我們真正挑戰團隊的目標，就是升級基礎設施以支援每天100台設備的簽約。我們鼓勵每個人積極與客戶互動，並努力實現這一目標。到2022年，我們每天的簽約量約為83台。 2023年，我們又將這數字成長到每天約98台。這些數字是基於前三個季度的平均值。

So last year, we did 92, 106, 95, average of about 98. Officially, we've always said that we want to get that over 100. Internally, what we've challenged our team to do is to get that number up into the 120s. And so we feel really good about Onsite and FMI Technology as far as the progress we're making to take market share. In a similar comparison that I did with the unit growth of Onsite. So FMI, we have 10.5% more devices today than we did a year ago. But you can see some falloff in the revenue per device. And in safety, for example, we grew about 8%. And when I look at our revenue per device, it's down 1% to 2% from a year ago. It's been pretty flat as we've gone through the year so far.

去年，我們的銷售量分別是92、106和95，平均約98。官方的說法是，我們一直希望銷量能超過100。內部，我們為團隊設定的目標是將銷售量提升到120以上。因此，我們對Onsite和FMI Technology在市場份額拓展方面取得的進展感到非常滿意。我之前也對Onsite的銷售成長做了類似的比較。 FMI目前的設備數量比一年前增加了10.5%。但可以看到，每台設備的收入有所下降。例如，在安全領域，我們的銷量成長了約8%。但從每台設備的收入來看，比一年前下降了1%到2%。今年以來，我們的收入成長一直比較平穩。

And again, that's a demand. But ultimately, it's a market share. It's a land grab. And so we will take market share by deploying more devices. And then we have to live with what the actual consumption is in those customers, whether it's robust or less than robust. It's a sign of permanent market share, and I'm pleased with the progress we're seeing there, and how it shines through in things like our safety because about half of our vending sales involve safety products.

再說一遍，這是一種需求。但歸根究底，這是一場市佔率爭奪戰。所以我們會透過部署更多設備來搶佔市場份額。然後，我們必須接受這些客戶的實際消費情況，無論消費量是高或低。這是市場份額穩固的標誌，我對我們在這方面取得的進展感到滿意，尤其是在安全產品等領域，因為我們自動販賣機銷售額中約有一半是安全產品。

eCommerce continues to get nice traction. And our digital footprint continues to expand. We're approaching 60% of sales. And our anticipation is sometime this year, that number will hit the mid-60s, 66% is our target. And ultimately, we believe that ends up being 85% of sales. So on the second page, I feel really good about the progress, but I'll finish where I started. It was a tough quarter, and we feel good about where we're going. With that, I'll turn it over to Holden.

電子商務持續穩定成長，我們的數位化業務版圖也不斷擴大。目前，線上銷售額已接近總銷售額的60%。我們預計今年某個時候，這一比例將達到60%以上，我們的目標是66%。最終，我們相信線上銷售額將達到總銷售額的85%。因此，在第二頁，我對目前的進展感到非常滿意，但我還是回到開頭。這個季度充滿挑戰，但我們對未來的發展方向充滿信心。接下來，我將把發言權交給霍爾頓。

Great. Thanks, Dan. Good morning, everyone. I'm going to begin on Slide 5. Total and daily sales in the first quarter of 2024 were up 1.9%. Q1 is seasonally low volume to start, but this year contended as well with severe weather in January and a Good Friday holiday that fell in March for the first time in 5 years, an impact that was compounded by falling on the last business day of the quarter.

太好了。謝謝，丹。大家早安。我將從第五張投影片開始。 2024年第一季的總銷售額和日銷售額均成長了1.9%。第一季通常是季節性淡季，但今年也受到了1月份惡劣天氣的影響，而且耶穌受難日假期五年來首次落在3月份，再加上假期恰逢季度末最後一個工作日，進一步加劇了銷售下滑。

This timing is estimated to have cost us 30 to 50 basis points of growth in the quarter. No matter how one treats this noise, however, it doesn't mask that the primary challenge remains poor underlying demand. Industrial production declined slightly in January and February but the components that most directly affect Fastenal such as machinery, were much weaker than the overall index.

據估計，此時間因素導致我們本季成長損失了30至50個基點。然而，無論如何看待這一波動，都無法掩蓋主要挑戰依然是潛在需求疲軟。 1月和2月工業生產略有下降，但對Fastenal影響最大的組成部分（例如機械設備）的降幅遠低於整體指數。

Overall, end market and product dynamics are unchanged from prior periods. Total manufacturing grew 2.6%, continuing to moderate from prior periods, while our fastener product line was down 4.4% with contraction in MRO and OEM products. This reflected soft industrial production, particularly for key components such as fabricated metal and machinery, and in the case of fasteners, negative pricing.

整體而言，終端市場和產品動態與前期相比沒有變化。製造業總量成長2.6%，成長速度較前期放緩；而緊固件產品線下降4.4%，其中MRO和OEM產品均萎縮。這反映出工業生產疲軟，尤其是金屬加工和機械等關鍵零件的生產疲軟，而緊固件則面臨價格負成長的困境。

Nonresidential construction and reseller continued to contract though at moderating rates as we experienced easier comparisons. Sales into warehousing, which are the fulfillment centers of retail-oriented customers remained healthy in the first quarter of 2024, albeit not quite at levels experienced in November and December of 2023. This, combined with good FMI signing contributed to 8.3% growth in sales of safety products. The tone of business activity from regional leadership is best characterized as steady at weak levels. We are encouraged by the forward-looking PMI moving above 50 in March for the first time since October '22. However, current conditions remain better defined by the string of sub-50 readings that prevailed in the latter part of '23 and at the start of 2024.

非住宅建築和經銷商業務持續萎縮，但由於基數較低，萎縮速度放緩。面向倉儲（零售客戶的物流中心）的銷售額在2024年第一季保持健康，儘管不如2023年11月和12月的水平。此外，良好的FMI簽約情況也推動安全產品銷售額成長8.3%。區域領導層的業務活動基調整體上較為穩定，但略顯疲軟。我們很欣喜地看到，前瞻性PMI指數在3月自2022年10月以來首次突破50。然而，2023年下半年和2024年初一系列低於50的讀數更能反映當前的市場狀況。

Now to Slide 6. We operating margin in the first quarter of 2024 was 20.6%, down 60 basis points year-over-year. Looking at the pieces, gross margin in the first quarter of 2024 was 45.5%, down 20 basis points from the year ago period. Product and customer mix was a drag, partly offset by slightly positive price/cost, which continues to recapture the negative price/cost that we experienced in the first quarter of 2023. In addition, with stocking levels largely rightsized, we experienced an increase in product movement across our network, which produce leverage of internal and external trucking resources, SG&A was 24.9% of sales in the first quarter of 2024, an increase from 24.6% from the year ago period.

現在來看投影片6。2024年第一季，我們的營業利益率為20.6%，較去年同期下降60個基點。具體來看，2024年第一季的毛利率為45.5%，較去年同期下降20個基點。產品和客戶組合的下滑拖累了業績，但略微正向的價格成本部分抵消了這一影響，並彌補了2023年第一季價格成本的負成長。此外，隨著庫存水準基本調整到位，我們整個網路的產品週轉量有所增加，從而更好地利用了內部和外部的運輸資源。 2024年第一季的銷售、管理及行政費用佔銷售額的24.9%，高於去年同期的24.6%。

Total SG&A was up 3.2%. Occupancy and other SG&A expenses were well contained, increasing just 1.5% collectively. The deleverage was from labor costs, which increased 3.9%, which included a 3.3% increase in average FTE in the period and substantially higher health care costs. The consistent low growth in SG&A over the last 5 quarters reflects the Blue Team doing a good job, spending where appropriate to support growth and scrimping where appropriate to preserve margin, but at some point, sales growth is the core issue.

總銷售、管理及行政費用增加3.2%。入住率及其他銷售、管理及行政費用控制良好，合計僅成長1.5%。槓桿率下降主要來自勞動成本，該項成本增加3.9%，其中包括同期平均全職員工人數增加3.3%以及醫療保健成本大幅上漲。過去五個季度銷售、管理及行政費用持續低增長，反映出藍隊工作出色，在適當的地方增加支出以支持增長，在適當的地方節約開支以保持利潤率。但歸根究底，銷售成長才是核心問題。

And as growth accelerates, we believe we will leverage the P&L. That said, I wanted to provide a little color on some factors that may affect margins in the second quarter of 2024. First, we continue to make investments in travel, hardware and personnel to support near and intermediate-term growth. This won't necessarily to any greater degree than was true in the first quarter of 2024, but it was a reason for deleverage in the period and could be again if growth doesn't accelerate in the second quarter.

隨著成長加速，我們相信能夠更好地利用損益表。話雖如此，我想就一些可能影響2024年第二季利潤率的因素做些說明。首先，我們將繼續在差旅、硬體和人員方面進行投資，以支持近期和中期成長。這方面的投入可能不會比2024年第一季更大，但當時正是由於這些投入才導致了去槓桿化，如果第二季度增長沒有加速，這種情況可能再次發生。

Second, the expansion of attendees at our customer expo will result in an increase in expenses in the second quarter of 2024 on both an annual and sequential basis. Third, our success solving customer -- certain customers' supply chain challenges in the fourth quarter of 2023 has created opportunities to service these customers at greater scale in the future. This will require certain near-term investments to ensure that we can meet these customers' needs.

第二，客戶博覽會參加人數的增加將導致2024年第二季支出增加，無論從年度或季比來看都是如此。第三，我們在2023年第四季成功幫助部分客戶解決了供應鏈難題，這為我們未來更大規模地服務這些客戶創造了機會。為此，我們需要在近期進行一些投資，以確保能夠滿足這些客戶的需求。

The latter 2 items could impact second quarter 2024 operating margins by approximately 30 basis points. We do not expect these costs to carry over into subsequent periods. Putting everything together, we reported first quarter 2024 EPS of $0.52, flat versus the first quarter of 2023, with net income up just slightly at up 0.6%.

後兩項因素可能會對2024年第二季的營業利潤率產生約30個基點的影響。我們預計這些成本不會延續到後續時期。綜合所有因素，我們公佈2024年第一季每股收益為0.52美元，與2023年第一季持平，淨利潤略微增長0.6%。

Turning to Slide 7. We generated $336 million in operating cash in the first quarter of 2024 or 113% of net income. While below the prior year, when we deliberately reduced layers of inventory, the current year's conversion rate is consistent with historical first quarter rates. With good cash generation and a soft demand environment, we continue to carry a conservatively capitalized balance sheet with debt being 5.5% of total capital down from 10.9% of total capital at the end of the first quarter of 2023.

請看投影片7.2024年第一季，我們產生了3.36億美元的營運現金流，佔淨利的113%。雖然低於上年同期（當時我們刻意減少了庫存層級），但本年度的轉換率與歷史第一季的水準基本一致。憑藉良好的現金流和疲軟的需求環境，我們持續保持穩健的資本結構，債務佔總資本的5.5%，低於2023年第一季末的10.9%。

Working capital dynamics were consistent with recent periods. Accounts receivable were up 5.5%, driven primarily by total sales growth and a shift towards larger customers, which tend to have longer terms. Inventories were down 9.4%, which continues to reflect primarily the reduction of inventory layers built a year ago to manage supply constraints and modest inventory deflation. While we will continue to focus on continuous improvement as it relates to inventory management, the rate of decline in our inventory balances will likely moderate going forward as the process of rightsizing our stock is largely complete.

營運資金動態與近期情況一致。應收帳款成長5.5%，主要得益於總銷售成長以及客戶數量增加（這些客戶的付款週期通常較長）。庫存下降9.4%，這主要反映了去年為應對供應限製而建立的庫存層級減少以及庫存略微下降的影響。儘管我們將繼續致力於庫存管理的持續改進，但隨著庫存規模調整工作基本完成，庫存餘額的下降速度可能會放緩。

Net capital spending in the first quarter of 2024 was $48.3 million, an increase from $30.9 million in the first quarter of 2023. This increase is consistent with our expectations for the full year where we anticipate capital spending in a range of $225 million to $245 million, up from $161 million in 2023. This increase remains a result of spending for hub automation and capacity, the substantial completion of an upgraded distribution center in Utah, an increase in FMI spend in anticipation of higher signings and in information technology.

2024年第一季淨資本支出為4,830萬美元，高於2023年第一季的3,090萬美元。這一增長與我們對全年的預期一致，我們預計全年資本支出將在2.25億美元至2.45億美元之間，高於2023年的1.61億美元。這一增長主要得益於樞紐自動化和產能提升方面的支出、猶他州升級改造配送中心的實質性竣工、為應對預期簽約量增加而增加的FMI支出以及信息技術方面的投入。

Now before turning to Q&A, I wanted to offer a higher level perspective on the quarter. Quantitatively, as Dan noted, it was challenging. But qualitatively, it was an encouraging quarter. We've touched on our disappointment with the pace of customer acquisition over the past several quarters and the changes made in mid-2023 to begin to address this. We view customer enthusiasm for our expo, the solid performance of our growth drivers and trends in our contract business as manifestations of those efforts starting to take root.

在進入問答環節之前，我想先從更高的層面談談本季的情況。正如丹所指出的，從量化指標來看，本季充滿挑戰。但從質的方面來看，這是一個令人鼓舞的季度。過去幾個季度，我們對客戶獲取速度感到失望，並在2023年中期開始著手解決這個問題。我們認為，客戶對我們展會的熱情、成長引擎的穩健表現以及合約業務的發展趨勢，都顯示這些努力正在初見成效。

Change takes time and success can be uneven. However, we do believe we are seeing good indications of progress, which should reaccelerate market share gains as we proceed through 2024. With that, operator, we will turn it over to begin the Q&A.

變革需要時間，成功並非一帆風順。然而，我們相信目前已看到一些良好的進展跡象，這將推動我們在2024年繼續擴大市場份額。接下來，主持人，我們將進入問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question is coming from Tommy Moll from Stephens.

（操作說明）我們的第一個問題來自史蒂芬斯公司的湯米·莫爾。

I wanted to double-click on Onsite where the KPI this quarter was quite strong, as you referenced. And Holden, you alluded to some of the leadership changes from recent months. I assume there's a connection there. But what can you do to just bring us in a little deeper on that Onsite performance in Q1 and what you might expect going forward? What's changed?

我想重點談談您提到的「現場服務」業務，正如您所說，該業務本季的KPI表現非常出色。霍爾頓，您也提到了最近幾個月的一些領導層變動。我猜這其中肯定有聯繫。您能否更深入地介紹一下「現場服務」業務在第一季的表現，以及您對未來發展的預期？有哪些變化？

I think we -- one of the changes we made, and this was -- if I go back 15 years, we made a decision to split our business into 3 distinct entities, essentially, the Eastern U.S., the Western U.S. and international. And in our National Accounts team, we split into 3 pieces too to as we align with those 3 business units. We did that for about 7 years. And around 2014, we saw that National Accounts being 3 distinct entities, it was a little chaotic.

我認為我們所做的改變之一是——如果回顧15年前，我們決定將業務拆分為三個獨立的實體，分別是美國東部、美國西部和國際業務。我們的全國客戶團隊也拆分為三個部分，以與這三個業務部門保持一致。我們這樣做了大約7年。到了2014年左右，我們發現全國客戶團隊作為三個獨立的實體，運作有些混亂。

And so we rolled that back into one umbrella. When we're going through 2022, we're putting up really good numbers and the economy is rebounding. But when I look at things like what was going on with our Onsite signings, what was going on with our contract acquisition numbers, they were softening and it's not about a person or a thing. It's about sometimes are we aligned to pursue a common goal or are we too fixated on our individual goals?

所以我們把這些都歸在一起了。到了2022年，我們的業績確實不錯，經濟也在復甦。但是，當我審視一些數據，例如我們的現場簽約量和合約獲取量時，發現它們都在下滑。這並非某個人或某件事的問題，而是我們是否齊心協力追求共同目標，還是過於執著於個人目標？

It seemed like we had so many groups talking about how well they were doing. But somehow if every group is doing well and the organization is slipping, something's wrong with how we're looking at it. And so in the spring of 2023, we realigned everything under one sales leader and realigned the U.S. back into one business unit. And there's disruption when there's change, and it takes time to gain traction. But I think a manifestation of that is the Onsite signings and one month isn't a trend, but they improved.

似乎很多團隊都在談論他們做得有多好。但如果每個團隊都表現出色，而整個組織卻在下滑，那肯定是我們看待問題的方式出了問題。因此，在2023年春季，我們重新調整了所有部門，由一位銷售主管統一領導，並將美國業務重新整合為一個業務單位。變革總是會帶來一些混亂，需要時間才能見效。但我認為現場簽約量就是這種改變的體現，雖然一個月的數據並不能代表整個趨勢，但簽約量確實有所提升。

The fact that we're scrambling in the last 45 days, the last 30 days, when I say, we, there's a team that's coordinating our trade show. So it's been extremely busy lining up additional hotel rooms and additional space for an event that's much larger than we anticipated 2 months ago. That's a function of an engaged sales team and a customer that's engaged with us of understanding how we can help their business. So that's what the 102 means to me and of equal importance, the record sign-up relative to post-COVID world, on folks attending our show and learning about how we can help. And I know personally, the visits I've been on, there's some really good traction going on out there, and I feel good about it.

過去45天，甚至過去30天裡，我們一直在忙著協調展會事宜。我說的“我們”，指的是一個專門負責協調展會的團隊。為了籌備這場規模遠超過兩個月前預期的盛會，我們不得不緊急安排額外的飯店房間和場地。這得歸功於我們積極投入的銷售團隊，以及與我們密切合作、了解我們如何協助其業務的客戶。對我而言，102這個數字意義非凡。同樣重要的是，在後疫情時代，展會的註冊人數創下了歷史新高，這不僅體現了這一點，也體現在參展人數的增加以及對我們如何提供幫助的積極性上。就我個人而言，我親身參與的幾次拜訪都讓我感受到了展會的良好勢頭，對此我感到非常欣慰。

We just have to work through the fact that we were taking market share from the standpoint of contract signings at an unacceptably low rate for a period of time. And the time between changing your sales focus, getting traction and that turns into revenue, doesn't happen in a quarter.

我們必須正視這樣一個事實：在一段時間內，我們透過合約簽約獲得的市佔率成長速度低得令人無法接受。而從改變銷售策略、獲得市場認可到最終轉化為收入，這中間的時間並不會在一個季度內完成。

Probably what I might add to that is I think an area where some of the changes are, perhaps, having the most rapid beneficial impact is probably on the contract side of the business. We've seen improvements in sort of the rate of signings on the contract side as well. And bear in mind, when you're talking about National Accounts and large customers, those also tend to be the kinds of customers that are signing up Onsite, utilizing more vending machines, right?

我可能還要補充一點，我認為一些變革或許在業務的合約上產生了最迅速的正面影響。我們也看到合約簽約率有所提高。請記住，對於全國性客戶和大型客戶而言，他們往往也是那些更傾向於現場簽約、使用更多自動販賣機的客戶，對吧？

And so some of the early indications of success we're having in that group, I think, also lend itself to that area. So again, it's uneven. I know Onsite signings can be lumpy. But you just look at a lot of those indications as a sign that -- the steps that we've taken are beginning to take root.

因此，我認為我們在該領域取得的一些早期成功跡像也適用於該領域。所以，情況仍然不均衡。我知道現場簽約可能會出現波動。但你可以把很多跡像看作是——我們採取的措施開始產生效果的標誌。

As a follow-up, I wanted to ask about a new disclosure you introduced today, just breaking out your OEM versus MRO fastener business with some new granularity there. I was just curious what was the decision-making process to do that? And is there a takeaway you want us to make sure to have today? I mean one that comes to mind is just the relative size of those 2 businesses where OEM is nearly 2x the MRO in terms of revenue contribution. But if there's something you want to make sure we take away, please flag it for us.

作為後續問題，我想詢問您今天公佈的新披露信息，即更細緻地劃分了OEM和MRO緊固件業務。我很好奇您做出這項決定的決策過程是怎麼樣的？您今天希望我們記住哪些重點？我想到的一點是，OEM和MRO業務的相對規模相當大，OEM業務的營收貢獻幾乎是MRO業務的兩倍。如果您還有其他需要我們注意的地方，請告訴我們。

We've been looking at that number internally for a number of years. And in full disclosure, when we first started delineating it, we had to figure out how to do it because it isn't always evident what is an OEM sale, what's an MRO sale. In the early years, the way we did it, OEM sales are not taxable. MRO sales are taxable. So our initial take at estimating what the 2 pieces were was to look at it in that lens.

多年來，我們一直在內部研究這個數字。坦白說，最初開始劃分時，我們不得不摸索如何進行，因為有時很難區分哪些是OEM銷售，哪些是MRO銷售。早期，我們採用的方法是，OEM銷售免稅，MRO銷售應稅。因此，我們最初估算這兩部分的銷售額時，就是從這個角度出發。

And that actually proved to be pretty accurate. And then we fine-tuned it and fine-tuned it. I think the biggest change is why Holden is willing to put it in a document because I didn't know he was putting it in this quarter until I read it in the draft of the press. The biggest reason, I think he feels more comfortable talking about it in print rather than talking about it in concept. And other than that, I don't know if there's a message behind it and Holden might tell me, I'm full of it, but he send a message there.

事實證明，我的判斷相當準確。之後我們又反覆修改完善。我認為最大的改變在於霍爾頓為什麼願意把這些內容寫進文件裡，因為直到我在新聞稿草稿裡看到之前，我並不知道他會把這些內容寫進這季度的稿子裡。最主要的原因是，我認為他覺得用文字表達比空談更自在。除此之外，我不知道這背後是否還有其他意義，霍爾頓或許會說我胡說八道，但他的確想透過這種方式傳達某種訊息。

No, as I usually say, we're not playing a 3-dimensional chess here with data. We gather the information, we figure we'd provide some information. Now I will tell you that both OEM and MRO tend to move with industrial production directionally the same way. But I think there's certainly...

不，正如我常說的，我們這裡不是在用數據下三維棋。我們收集信息，然後思考如何提供一些資訊。現在我要說的是，OEM和MRO的發展方嚮往往與工業生產的方向一致。但我認為肯定存在…

As far as fasteners are concerned.

就緊固件而言。

As far as fasteners are concerned. Now I think there's some information that could be in there, right? I mean when you think about Onsites. Onsites are probably more oriented towards OEM fasteners than MRO fasteners. And so there's some information in there about how Onsites are going. It gives you a little bit more granularity and the cyclicality because again, OEM fasteners tend to be -- while the directionality may be the same, the order of magnitude may be different. So it gives you a little bit of color into that as well. So as Dan indicated, we gathered the data anyway. We saw no reason why we shouldn't share it. Question is about to come up on the call, and so you can have it.

就緊固件而言，我認為其中可能包含一些有價值的信息，對吧？我的意思是，想想現場作業的情況。現場作業可能更傾向於使用原廠緊固件，而不是維護、維修和大修 (MRO) 緊固件。因此，其中包含一些關於現場作業進展的資訊。它能提供更細緻的資訊和週期性變化，因為原廠緊固件雖然趨勢可能相同，但數量級可能不同。所以，它也能提供一些更豐富的細節。正如丹所說，我們無論如何都收集了這些數據。我們認為沒有理由不分享。電話會議上馬上會有人問到這個問題，所以你可以先看看。

Your next question is coming from Chris Snyder from UBS.

下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的克里斯·史奈德。

Maybe first, starting on SG&A and the willingness to spend and invest in the business. I felt like the past couple of quarters the message was really tightening the belt in response to lower growth. This quarter, it seems like it's more willing to spend to support and drive that higher growth. So is that the right takeaway? And do you feel like maybe more spend is needed to get back to the more normalized historical levels of market outgrowth and customer acquisition?

或許首先應該從銷售、管理及行政費用（SG&A）以及公司在業務方面的支出和投資意願著手。我感覺過去幾個季度，由於成長放緩，公司似乎在勒緊褲腰帶。而本季度，公司似乎更願意投入資金來支持和推動更高的成長。我的理解是否正確？您是否認為公司需要增加支出，才能恢復到以往市場成長和客戶獲取的正常水準？

Yes. I guess I would maybe phrase that differently in one regard. We've been investing to grow throughout the cycle. But we had some offsets and we talked about this in the January call, and that was, we were closing locations for a decade and that gave us a little nugget of an offset.

是的。我想在某一方面我可能會換個說法。我們一直在投資以實現成長，貫穿了整個週期。但我們也遇到了一些抵消因素，我們在1月份的電話會議上討論過，那就是我們關閉了一些門店，持續了十年之久，這給我們帶來了一些抵消。

As we went through 2023, one nugget of an offset was the fact that in 2022, our earnings grew quite dramatically. And in our incentive comp, which is linked to earnings growth, a big piece of it grew quite dramatically. That softened as we went through 2023 and quite frankly more normalized. But as we get deeper into that, moving away from the 2022 time frame, some of that benefit isn't there. So I don't know that it's a function of -- and I'm looking at it from a growth standpoint expense, not an absolute. I think it's probably more of a function. Our investments to grow are shining through a little bit more now than maybe they were in the last 6 to 8 quarters.

進入2023年，一個抵銷因素是，2022年我們的獲利成長非常顯著。而與獲利成長掛鉤的激勵薪酬中，很大一部分也實現了大幅成長。到了2023年，這種成長有所放緩，坦白說也更加正常化了。但隨著時間推移，遠離2022年的時間框架，部分收益已經消失。因此，我不確定這是否只是成長成本（而非絕對成本）的結果。我認為更可能是其他因素造成的。我們用於成長的投資現在比過去六到八個季度更加顯著地顯現出來。

Yes. And I think really, I think what's changed is the rate of growth, too. I often get asked, where is that delineation point where you can expand margin or contract margin. And I've always said it's kind of around that mid-single-digit number. I think we've done a nice job limiting over the last 5 quarters our SG&A growth to 5% or less in each of them.

是的。而且我認為，真正改變的是成長率。我常被問到，利潤率擴張或收縮的臨界點在哪裡。我一直認為，這個臨界點大概在個位數的中段水準。我認為，在過去的五個季度裡，我們把銷售、管理及行政費用（SG&A）的成長控制在5%或以下，做得相當不錯。

And at the levels of growth, which were unsatisfactory, but not first quarter '24 unsatisfactory, we were able to defend the margin. I think part of the point I wanted to make is we're not panicking over the deleverage. We don't have a cost problem. But at the same time, there are some things that we're going to continue to invest in. And when I called out 20% growth in sales travel, I don't know that I regret that, to be honest, because I think that, that is related to the improvements we're having in our contract business, the improvements we're having in our signings, right?

雖然成長水準並不盡如人意，但比2024年第一季的情況要好一些，我們得以保住利潤率。我想強調的是，我們並沒有因為去槓桿化而感到恐慌。我們沒有成本問題。但同時，我們將繼續在某些方面進行投資。坦白說，我之前提到銷售差旅業務成長了20%，現在看來我並不後悔，因為我認為這與我們合約業務的改善以及簽約量的提升密切相關，對吧？

And we're not going to react to a 2% growth quarter, which we believe is very temporary by beginning to slash costs. I think that was the message. I think as it relates to the other items that we talked about, the expo and sort of the opportunities we have with a certain customer group that really is just to make a point that we have opportunities that's going to have a spend a little bit more than we might normally do in a single quarter. And we just felt that we should call that out for you because it does matter as you build your models. But I don't think that -- our approach has always been that we're going to invest in the business, and we continue to do so.

我們不會因為一個季度2%的成長就削減成本，因為我們認為這只是暫時的。我想這就是我們想傳達的訊息。至於我們之前提到的其他事項，例如展會以及我們與特定客戶群的合作機會，我想強調的是，我們有一些機會，這些機會的單季支出可能會比平常略高一些。我們覺得應該特別說明這一點，因為這在你們建構模型時確實很重要。但我認為──我們一直以來的做法都是投資在業務，而且我們也會繼續這樣做。

Appreciate that. It makes a lot of sense. For the follow-up, a question that we continue to get from investors is around the impact of potential tariffs based on the outcome of the November election. So just would be interested in your guys' perspective and what that could mean for the business?

非常感謝。這很有道理。接下來，我們不斷收到投資人關於11月大選結果可能引發的關稅影響的問題。所以，我想聽聽你們的看法，以及這會對公司業務產生什麼影響？

Our covenant with our customer is a reliable supply chain, a high-quality supply chain, a cost-effective supply chain. The biggest thing we focus on is diversity of supplier. And historically, we didn't necessarily look at that from a geographic standpoint. We looked at it from a number standpoint. For this commodity, for this fastener, for this -- whatever it might be, you have multiple sources of supply.

我們與客戶的承諾是提供可靠、高品質且經濟高效的供應鏈。我們最關注的是供應商的多樣性。過去，我們並非僅僅從地域角度考慮這個問題，而是從數量角度出發。無論是某種商品、某種緊固件，或是其他任何產品，我們都力求提供多個供應來源。

So if you have a disruption, you can pivot. The other thing we tried to do is we wanted to be a customer of meaning, meaningful size to our supplier base, such that if there's a pecking order of supply constraint, we're first in line on that pecking order because we've been a reliable customer and we pay with cash. And those 2 things are powerful things in any environment, but especially a constrained supply environment.

所以，如果遇到業務中斷，你可以迅速調整策略。我們努力做的另一件事是，我們希望成為供應商群中舉足輕重的客戶，這樣，如果供應出現緊張，我們就能排在第一位，因為我們一直是可靠的客戶，而且我們用現金支付。這兩點在任何環境下都非常重要，尤其是在供應緊張的環境下。

One thing we have been doing, and this has been going on for the last 4 or 5 years is we have made a conscious effort to continue to diversify our supply base, not just by the number of suppliers but by the geographies from which we obtain product. That's part of our covenant with our customer. We balance that with cost effectiveness. And because if you -- it's sitting on the customer and saying, what's the trade-off of what we're willing to spend for supply chain to have that diversity of supply because there is a trade-off there.

過去四、五年來，我們一直在努力實現供應鏈多元化，這不僅體現在供應商數量的增加，也體現在產品來源地的拓展。這是我們與客戶承諾的一部分。我們會在多元化的同時兼顧成本效益。因為如果讓客戶來評判，讓他們思考為了實現供應鏈多元化，我們願意投入多少成本，這其中必然存在權衡取捨。

Obviously, tariffs can have 2 impacts. One, it changes the math exercise of the trade-off. It also increases the expense of supply chain. To the extent it increases the cost of the customer supply chain, that will manifest itself in our revenue growing little bit faster because we're pricing that as it's coming through. But our covenant with our customer is to always have an incredibly reliable source of supply, impeccable quality in that supply and a cost-effective supply chain and we balance those every day.

顯然，關稅會產生兩方面的影響。首先，它改變了權衡取捨的計算方式。其次，它增加了供應鏈的成本。客戶供應鏈成本的增加越多，我們的收入成長速度就會越快，因為我​​們需要將這部分成本計入價格。但我們與客戶的承諾是始終提供極其可靠的供應來源、無可挑剔的產品品質以及成本效益高的供應鏈，而我們每天都在努力平衡這三者。

Probably the only thing I would add to that is our execution wasn't as crisp as we might have liked during the first period where there was tariffs. Remember, there's also some ancillary inflation on top of the tariff that was occurring at that time. And we struggled a little bit to sort of capture it all in the moment. I would say that since then, and frankly, because of that period, we made significant investments in the technology that we utilize to understand the environment and communicate internally and externally with sort of the structure of our business and how we kind of manage our pricing and costing processes.

我唯一想補充的是，在關稅生效初期，我們的執行力可能沒有達到預期。要知道，當時除了關稅之外，還有一些附帶的通貨膨脹。我們當時很難全面掌握所有因素。坦白說，正是因為那段時期，我們才對用於了解市場環境、進行內部和外部溝通的技術進行了大量投資，這些技術也影響了我們業務的架構以及定價和成本核算流程的管理。

And I think that you've seen the effectiveness of those changes through this last few years where there's been very significant inflation and our ability to keep up with it, fairly effectively and on time. And so again, I don't know what the future holds on that. But to the extent that there's anything that moves up the cost of product, we think we're better served to execute effectively than we were 5 years ago during the last period of time.

我認為，過去幾年通貨膨脹非常嚴重，而我們能夠相當有效且及時地應對，這些變革的成效已經顯現。所以，我無法預知未來會如何發展。但就目前而言，如果任何因素推高產品成本，我們認為我們現在比五年前更能有效應對。

Next question today is coming from Stephen Volkmann from Jefferies.

今天的下一個問題來自傑富瑞集團的史蒂芬‧沃克曼。

Holden, you mentioned in your gross margin comments that -- you mentioned transportation resources and a little bit of price degradation, I guess. I'm just curious, have you changed your view of sort of the cadence of gross margin as we move into the next 3 quarters?

霍爾頓，你在談到毛利率時提到了運輸成本和價格略有下降，我想是這樣。我很好奇，你對未來三季毛利率走勢的看法是否有改變？

No, I haven't. I think my original comment was that you wouldn't see quite as much mix impact and there may be some offsets. And so as we expected to see gross margin down in 2024, it may not be down as much as it has been in historical periods. I think first quarter was representative of that down 20 basis points. And I think that, that narrative still very much holds true. Now some of the investments that I alluded to, some of those fall in SG&A, some of those falling COGS.

不，我沒有。我最初的評論是，產品組合變化的影響不會那麼大，可能會有一些抵消因素。因此，儘管我們預期2024年毛利率會下降，但降幅可能不會像歷史上那麼大。我認為第一季下降20個基點就體現了這一點。而且我認為，這種說法仍然非常適用。我提到的一些投資，一部分計入銷售、管理及行政費用，一部分計入銷售成本。

And so I think that there will be perhaps a little bit of a delta in Q2 specifically. I think we sort of addressed that. But by and large, I think that the variables that we anticipated resulting in a, perhaps, more subdued drag on margin in 2024. I still see them very much in place. So no change to how I feel about gross margin cadence.

所以我認為第二季可能會略有波動。我們之前也考慮到了這一點。但總的來說，我認為我們預期的那些可能在2024年對毛利率造成較小影響的因素，仍然會持續存在。因此，我對毛利率走勢的看法並沒有改變。

Great. And then switching back to the customer expo. Is that the kind of event where you actually sign up various things like actual revenue comes out of it? Or is it more of a customer relationship type building exercise?

太好了。然後我們再回到客戶博覽會。這種活動是那種會實際產生收入，並達成各種協議的活動嗎？還是更專注於建立客戶關係？

It's both, but there's a lot of -- one thing that we're able to do with an event like that is that sometimes the attention of decision makers is a challenge in the process and the communication in that group. The nice thing about the customers show is that we get the right audience in attending and that includes on both Fastenal and the customer side. That's not one way or the other. It's also an incredible awareness element from the standpoint of -- sometimes seeing and touching vending machine, seeing an RFID setup, understanding how we go to market, talking to some suppliers, talking to other customers.

兩者兼具，但其中有很多——我們舉辦這類活動的一個好處是，有時在整個過程中，吸引決策者的注意力以及與該群體內部的溝通都是一項挑戰。客戶展的優勢在於，我們能夠吸引到合適的受眾，包括Fastenal的代表和客戶。這並非偏袒一方。從某個角度來看，這也是一個絕佳的認知機會——有時可以看到並觸摸自動販賣機，了解RFID系統，了解我們的市場推廣方式，與一些供應商和其他客戶交流。

And we also hold quite a few seminars where we're talking through different pieces. And what we try to convey is the nature of the supply chain you have that comes through Fastenal, why we believe it's special for you. Not why Fastenal is special, why we believe this channel of supply chain, which happens to be Fastenal is special. And there's deals that get closed as a result of that. But there's a lot of expansion that gets opened up.

我們也會舉辦許多研討會，深入探討各種細節。我們想傳達的是，透過 Fastenal 建立的供應鏈的本質，以及我們認為它對您為何如此特別。不是 Fastenal 本身有何特別之處，而是我們認為 Fastenal 這個供應鏈管道為何如此特別。由此促成了一些交易，同時也開啟了許多新的發展空間。

And for a number of years ago, I was directly involved with our national accounts team. In that several year period, I had more meetings with customers than I probably had in the previous 15 years. And the one thing that always amazed me is, we would have a customer that's doing $20 million a year with us. And I'd come out of that conversation with the direct knowledge of they could triple or quadruple their business with us if they decided to. And what we need to do is give them a reason to decide to because we believe we're the best supply chain partner for -- in that marketplace.

幾年前，我曾直接參與全國客戶團隊的工作。在那幾年裡，我與客戶會面的次數可能比過去15年加起來還要多。最令我驚訝的是，我們有些客戶每年與我們的交易額高達2000萬美元。每次談話後，我都能清楚地了解到，如果他們願意，他們的業務量完全可以翻三倍甚至四倍。我們需要做的就是給他們一個理由，讓他們做出這樣的決定，因為我們相信，在這個市場中，我們是他們最佳的供應鏈夥伴。

And part of it is telling the story and it does a great job. But to directly answer your question, it's a little bit of both.

其中一部分是講述故事，而且它做得很好。但要直接回答你的問題，兩者兼具。

Make no mistake, Stephen, if we have to talk to you about what the impact of the cost is going to be in the second quarter, we do expect a return on it. It may not all happen at the show, but it's expected to happen shortly thereafter.

史蒂芬，你別誤會，如果我們需要跟你討論第二季成本的影響，我們確實預期會有回報。也許不會在展會上全部實現，但預計會在此之後不久發生。

Your next question is coming from Jacob Levinson from Melius Research.

下一個問題來自 Melius Research 公司的 Jacob Levinson。

Holden, you mentioned a couple of very broad end markets that have been challenging, I think, for a little while now, fabricated metals and machinery. Obviously, those are pretty broad. And certainly, we've got some cycles that seem to be rolling over like ag and truck. But just trying to get a sense of where the negative outliers are today for your trucks?

霍頓，您提到了一些非常廣泛的終端市場，我認為它們已經面臨挑戰一段時間了，例如金屬製品和機械製造。顯然，這些市場範圍很廣。當然，我們也看到一些週期性波動正在消退，例如農業和卡車產業。但我只是想了解一下，目前貴公司卡車業務的負面情況主要集中在哪些領域？

Yes. If those categories are too broad for you, take that up with the federal government. I'm just going by SIC codes. I don't know what the outliers are. At this point, and honestly, I think it kind of is reflective in the end market chart that we have in the press release. At this stage, pretty much every end market is converging on itself. We're well over a year here of sluggish demand in a market that I think has affected most markets.

是的。如果您覺得這些分類太過寬泛，可以向聯邦政府反映。我只是按照標準行業分類代碼（SIC）來劃分的。我不知道哪些是異常值。說實話，我認為目前的情況在我們新聞稿中的終端市場圖表中有所體現。現階段，幾乎所有終端市場都在趨於同質化。市場需求低迷已經持續一年多了，我認為這對大多數市場都產生了影響。

And so when I talk to the regional leadership and they provide their feedback, there's different times when certain markets are called out because they're either stronger or weaker or what have you. At this point, I'm not getting a lot of end market call outs, which suggests to me that people are kind of feeling a general softness across the board. So I don't have a lot of market-by-market color to add. I'm not sure there is much.

所以，當我與區域領導溝通並提供回饋時，他們會不時指出某些市場表現較強或較弱等等。目前，我很少收到針對特定終端市場的回饋，顯示大家普遍感覺市場疲軟。因此，我沒有什麼具體的市場分析可以補充。我覺得沒什麼好補充的。

Yes. That is good color. Maybe expanding a little bit on Steve's question on pricing, I mean, certainly, steel is more important for you folks and we've seen inflation being a little bit sticky. We've got copper prices going up, and oil prices going up. Just trying to get a sense of, and maybe it's too early, frankly, to be even asking this, but just trying to get a sense of what the appetite is in your supply base to take prices up again this year.

是的，顏色不錯。關於史蒂夫提出的定價問題，我想再補充一點。當然，鋼鐵對你們來說更重要，而且我們看到通膨似乎難以逆轉。銅價和油價都在上漲。我只是想了解一下，坦白說，現在問這個問題可能還為時過早，但我只是想了解一下你們的供應商今年是否有意願再次提價。

I don't know that I've heard about a lot of appetite. Now a couple of things, I think, that you should recognize. One is I think a lot of people look at the U.S. steel indexes, I would tell you that we're more associated with foreign steel indexes and those have not been particularly volatile, frankly. I think the U.S. ones are behaving in a different fashion than the Taiwanese or Chinese ones.

我沒聽說市場需求很大。現在有幾點要注意。首先，很多人關注美國鋼鐵指數，但我必須說，我們更關注的是外國鋼鐵指數，坦白講，這些指數波動性並不大。我認為美國鋼鐵指數的走勢與台灣或中國的鋼鐵指數不同。

And so we're not necessarily seeing the steel inflation that people keep asking me about. Two, bear in mind that by the time fastener is made and shipped and sold to the mark up through the channel, et cetera, the actual value of the raw material in the final product is probably 1/3 or slightly less of the total value. So I mean, I know we're selling a slug of steel, but there's a lot of value add wrapped on top of the initial raw material.

所以，我們並沒有看到人們一直問我的那種鋼材價格上漲。其次，請記住，從緊固件的生產、運輸到最終銷售，經過通路加價等等環節，最終產品中原材料的實際價值可能只有總價值的三分之一甚至更少。我的意思是，我知道我們賣的是鋼材，但除了最初的原料之外，還有很多增值環節。

And so honestly, as long as I've been here, and Dan might be able to speak to prior periods. But as long as I've been here, steel hasn't really been a catalyst to raising or lowering prices. Transportation has been more meaningful. So I don't think that I'm hearing anything. And Dan and I have spoken to different people, different group, and might have a different perspective. I don't think I'm hearing anything that says we're seeing rampant inflation in raw materials that we need to start thinking about raising prices.

說實話，就我在這裡的這段時間而言（丹或許能談談之前的時期），鋼鐵價格並沒有真正影響物價的漲跌。運輸價格的影響更大。所以我覺得我沒聽到什麼風聲。我和丹也跟不同的人、不同的群體聊過，可能看法不一樣。但我感覺目前沒有任何跡象顯示原物料價格出現了嚴重的通膨，需要我們考慮提價。

If I look at the fastener subset, and Holden touched on this in his earnings release because you have to look at where steel is used and it's steel, the copper prices has been very meaningful in our business. One element that as FMIs become a bigger part of the business, you get new indicators in the business. And I talked about what we're seeing in the vending and what we're seeing on Onsite.

如果我看一下緊固件子集，霍爾頓在他的財報中也提到了這一點，因為你必須關注鋼材的使用情況，而鋼材的使用情況至關重要，銅價對我們的業務影響非常顯著。隨著FMI（固定式金屬加工設備）在業務中佔比越來越大，業務中也會出現新的指標。我談到了我們在自動販賣機和現場服務中觀察到的情況。

Another one is related to our bin stock app. And so that's now about 13%, 14% of our sales. And there's a high concentration of fasteners in there, not exclusive, but a high concentration. There's a lot of OEMs. And so there's -- in our other product lines, there's OEM aspects in there as well. But I don't have apples-and-apples comparison to last March because we were still transitioning off our legacy bin stock app platform, the MC devices.

另一個方面與我們的庫存管理系統應用程式有關。目前，該應用程式的銷售額約占我們總銷售額的 13% 到 14%。其中緊固件的佔比很高，雖然並非全部都是緊固件，但佔比確實很高。有很多 OEM 廠商。因此，在我們其他產品線中，也存在 OEM 相關的業務。但由於當時我們仍在從舊版庫存管理系統平台（即 MC 設備）過渡，所以無法與去年三月的數據進行直接比較。

But in April of 2023, we were doing just over 16,000 transactions, orders per day using a mobility device in Android device scanning bins. The dollars per order was 320,000 orders for the month, so 16,000 a day. Dollars per order were $232. In March of 2024, 11 months later, we did 362,000 orders during the month, so 17,240-some a day, $2.16, so it's down $16 or 7% from a year ago. I would venture to say 2/3 of that is pricing and the other 1/3 is just underlying consumption. And that's an estimate because we don't have great visibility into it.

但在2023年4月，我們使用行動裝置在安卓掃描箱中完成的訂單量略高於每天16,000筆。當月訂單總額為32萬美元，即每天16,000筆，每筆訂單金額為232美元。 11個月後的2024年3月，當月訂單量達到362,000筆，即每天約17,240筆，每筆訂單金額為2.16美元，比一年前下降了16美元，降幅為7%。我估計其中三分之二是價格因素，另外三分之一是實際消費量下降。這只是一個估計值，因為我們無法準確掌握實際消費狀況。

That number when we started the quarter, it was kind of in the low 220s and now it's around 216s. I don't know how much Good Friday played into that, maybe a point of it. But there is different pricing going on. So part of the negative in fasteners, as Holden touched on in the press release, is pricing, but it's also a weak demand environment.

本季初，這個數字大概在220美元左右，現在已經降到了216美元左右。我不知道耶穌受難日對這個數字的影響有多大，也許有一定影響。但價格確實發生了變化。正如霍爾頓在新聞稿中提到的，緊固件價格下跌是不利因素之一，但疲軟的需求環境也是一個重要因素。

Your next question is coming from Patrick Baumann from JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自摩根大通的派崔克·鮑曼。

I wanted to ask about something you mentioned in the press release. It says -- towards the back of your release it says, like less store closures should result in an increase in growth of end market locations going forward. I see how that would make a lot of sense. I guess I just wonder if you could address the degree to which store closures in the past have contributed to the Onsite location growth that you've seen.

我想問您在新聞稿中提到的一點。新聞稿後半部提到，門市關閉數量的減少應該會促進終端市場門市數量的成長。我明白這很有道理。我只是想問一下，過去的門市關閉在多大程度上促進了您觀察到的現場服務門市數量的增長。

And then relatedly, what drives confidence that you can organically sustain that level of growth without the help of business coming over from the stores going forward? And maybe this is just a misunderstanding on my part of what's driven the Onsite growth in the past. And so if you could kind of clarify that, that would be super helpful.

那麼，您又是如何確信，即使不依賴門市的客流，您也能持續維持目前的成長水準？或許我對過去線上銷售成長的驅動因素有誤解。如果您能對此進行澄清，那就太好了。

If there was a camera in the room, sometimes you might chuckle at the reactions you get from Dan and Holden looking at each other during a question because I kind of gave Holden a look, is that's in there. And I say it that way because back in about 2014 -- 2013, we really came to a conclusion, we had too many locations for the market. And we felt a better way to grow into the future was through the Onsite strategy. And we tempered the desire to close the locations too fast.

如果房間裡有攝像頭，你可能會忍不住笑出聲來，因為丹和霍爾頓在回答問題時會互相交換眼神，而我當時也給了霍爾頓一個眼神，心想：這肯定被拍下來了。我這麼說是因為，大概在2013年到2014年的時候，我們最終意識到，我們的門市數量對於市場來說太多了。我們覺得，未來更好的發展方式是透過線上線下融合（Onsite）策略。我們也克制住了過快關門店的衝動。

And these weren't large locations. We tempered it from the standpoint of the biggest limiting factor for Fastenal historically hasn't been opportunity, i.e., size of the market. It hasn't been financial ability to pull it off. It's been talent acquisition and talent development. That's why we have a very thoughtful process of how we recruit, and we have our own corporate university to develop talent because that's what we bring to the market, talent, and that talent is armed by a great supply chain system behind them to help them be really, really effective.

而且這些地點規模都不大。我們從Fastenal的角度出發，考慮到歷史上最大的限制因素並非市場規模，也並非資金能力，而是人才的取得和培養，因此我們採取了更為謹慎的做法。正因如此，我們制定了一套非常周密的招募流程，並設立了自己的企業大學來培養人才，因為我們為市場帶來的正是人才，而強大的供應鏈體系則為這些人才提供了強有力的支持，幫助他們真正發揮出卓越的才能。

And so we tempered the closures really to -- because we felt that talent could slide over into the other -- into branches that are growing but also into this new Onsite growth element because we had the talent to move. And if we had closed a bunch of locations, we'd have lost that talent. What we also tried to do is, we try to be very thoughtful about what it meant from the perspective of moving that -- if we have a community with 2 or 3 Fastenal locations, in a perfect world, we would like to keep that business in the other branches.

因此，我們採取了較為溫和的關店策略，因為我們認為人才可以轉移到其他正在發展的分支機構，以及我們新的現場服務業務，因為我們有足夠的人才可以調動。如果我們關閉大量門市，就會失去這些人才。此外，我們也努力從人才轉移的角度出發，認真考慮關閉門市的意義——例如，如果某個社區有兩三家 Fastenal 門市，理想情況下，我們希望將業務保留在其他分店。

Now if the business goes to an Onsite that's because there was a larger opportunity in the first place and it moved into an Onsite. I don't know that closing branches led to Onsite or growth of Onsites. I'm not sure was a customer there. And sometimes we close branches because it was a remote market. And the only reason we were there was because of 2 customers. And we went Onsite with those 2 customers, and we closed that branch. That did happen. But usually what happened is those 2 customers were doing 30,000 a month with us each and now they're doing 130,000 a month with us each and that was the appeal of the strategy.

如果一家企業最終選擇現場辦公，那是因為最初有更大的發展機會，所以才轉向了現場辦公。我不確定關閉分公司是否真的導致了現場辦公的轉型或成長。我不確定，因為我當時並不是那裡的客戶。有時候我們關閉分公司是因為市場偏遠。我們之所以在那裡開設分支機構，只是因為那兩家客戶。後來我們和這兩家客戶一起轉向了現場辦公，並關閉了那家分店。這種情況確實發生過。但通常情況下，這兩家客戶最初每月在我們這裡的銷售額是 3 萬美元，現在每家每月都達到了 13 萬美元，這就是我們策略的吸引力。

But there were trade-offs in that. For the annual meeting this year, I do plan on sharing some insight on some of the trade-offs we've made as an organization as we've closed locations because this is a piece that doesn't always get talked about. But if I go back and when I have district manager conversations, I get a whole bunch of stats from our statistics folks, I wear them out. And I get it district by district. But if I look at it at a company level, in 2007, cash customers, so that's somebody that comes into a branch, it is a purely retail customer.

但這樣做是有取捨的。在今年的年會上，我計劃分享一些關於我們公司在關閉門市過程中所做的取捨，因為這方面的內容並不總是被提及。回想過去，當我與區域經理們交流時，我會從統計人員那裡得到一大堆數據，我都快把他們煩死了。而且我是逐區收集數據。但如果從公司層級來看，2007 年的現金客戶，也就是那些到分行辦理業務的純粹零售客戶，數量就比較少了。

In 2007, our total sales with that customer, it was 4% of our revenue. It was $76 million. 5 years later, that $76 million had grown to $78 million. And the reason it didn't grow very much, we weren't opening very many locations because we pulled our location growth way down in 2007 and that customer was kind of stagnant.

2007年，我們與該客戶的總銷售額占我們總收入的4%，為7,600萬美元。五年後，這7,600萬美元成長到7,800萬美元。而成長幅度不大的原因是，我們在2007年大幅放緩了門市擴張速度，因此沒有開設太多新店，而該客戶的業務也基本上停滯不前。

Interestingly enough, that $78 million 5 years later had grown to $111 million that was 2017. 2 years after that in 2019, the year before COVID started, that had dropped to $106 million, so it dropped 5% in that 2-year period. During COVID, that business was pummeled because we closed all our front locations and the marketplace decided to order -- to buy more through e-commerce than to buy retail. And I think we all know that in our own personal life that $106 million went to $75 million, it's now 1% of our sales. We made the strategic decision to keep the doors closed.

有趣的是，五年後，也就是2017年，7,800萬美元成長到了1.11億美元。兩年後的2019年，也就是新冠疫情爆發前一年，這個數字下降到了1.06億美元，兩年內下降了5%。疫情期間，由於我們關閉了所有實體店，市場轉向線上購物而非實體店，這項業務遭受了重創。我想我們都知道，就我們個人而言，1.06億美元的收入變成了7500萬美元，現在只占我們銷售額的1%。我們當時做出了戰略決策，決定繼續關閉實體店。

And when I say closed, they're open, but we made the decision to deemphasize going after that and redeploy those resources on other things. Just like restaurants in today's world have made the decision, they're not open on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday anymore because they can't afford, they can't find the staffing and they can't afford it.

我說“關閉”，其實它們還開著，只是我們決定不再把精力放在這上面，而是把資源重新投入到其他方面。就像現在很多餐廳一樣，他們決定週一、週二、週三不再營業，因為他們負擔不起，找不到人手，也負擔不起。

So that $75 million that we did in 2021 was $45 million in 2023. That was a trade-off. That didn't go to another brands because if you're coming in and shopping at Fastenal like it's a hardware store, and we don't have a location, 3 locations in town and the 2 that are left are 10 minutes instead of 5 minutes away, you lose some of that business. Customers under $500. This is where they have an account number with us. That was $336 million back in 2007. 10 years later, that was $395 million. Last year, that was $153 million. Now some of that is our customers that we lost.

所以，我們在2021年實現的7,500萬美元收入，到2023年就只有4,500萬美元了。這是一種權衡。這筆錢並沒有流向其他品牌，因為如果你像逛五金店一樣來Fastenal購物，而我們卻沒有在你家附近——我們在這個城市只有三家店，剩下的兩家也需要10分鐘車程而不是5分鐘車程——那麼你就會失去一部分生意。我們這裡指的是那些單筆消費低於500美元的顧客。這些顧客在我們這裡都有帳號。 2007年，這個數字是3.36億美元。 10年後，是3.95億美元。去年，是1.53億美元。現在，其中一部分是我們流失的顧客。

Some of that is customers that now are doing $1,000 with us or $2000 with us or $3,000 with us because we moved them out of that bucket. But those are trade-offs of business makes. We think it's the right trade-off because it set us up to be really special because if you think of all the growth drivers we've introduced in the last 15 years when we deemphasized back in 2007 opening locations, vending doesn't grow a retail customer.

其中一些客戶現在在我們這裡消費1000美元、2000美元甚至3000美元，是因為我們把他們從之前的消費群體中轉移了出來。但這是商業運作中必須做出的權衡。我們認為這是正確的權衡，因為它讓我們真正與眾不同。想想過去15年我們推出的所有成長驅動因素，尤其是在2007年我們不再重視開設實體店面之後，你會發現自動販賣機並不能帶來零售客戶的成長。

Vending doesn't even grow a $400 a month customer, but it might turn out $500 into a $5,000. It might turn a $10,000 into $20,000 because between FMI and Onsite you're unlocking more business with that customer. And I went off probably on more of a tangent there than you anticipated with that question. But I think that's a critical piece to understand of the strategy of Fastenal for the last 10 to 15 years and how it's played out.

自動販賣機甚至無法讓一個月消費 400 美元的客戶增加到 500 美元，甚至可能讓一個月消費 1 萬美元的客戶增加到 2 萬美元，因為透過 FMI 和 Onsite 服務，你可以從該客戶身上挖掘更多商機。我剛才可能有點離題了，比你預想的還要多。但我認為這是理解 Fastenal 過去 10 到 15 年策略及其執行情況的關鍵。

It absolutely is. And I would just look at the language to suggest our traditional branch count is likely to be stable to slightly up over time. As we add international, maybe there's the odd location domestically that we want to add every now and again, too.

確實如此。從措辭來看，我認為我們傳統的分支機構數量可能會保持穩定，或隨著時間的推移略有增長。隨著我們拓展國際業務，或許也會不時在國內增設一些分公司。

The primary growth in those end markets locations will be because of the addition of additional Onsites. You'll just see the rate of growth ramp up because those Onsite keep coming on and you're not having the reduction in branches. That's what that was intended to get it right.

這些終端市場的主要成長將來自於新增的現場服務網點。你會看到成長速度加快，因為這些現場服務網點不斷增加，而分行數量並沒有減少。這正是我們預期的目標。

That makes sense. I appreciate the extra color there. I just have a very quick follow-up on the Onsite signings. How did things progress through the quarter? And I'm asking only because last quarter, you said maybe some slipped out of the fourth quarter for whatever reason and could have been pushed into this year. So wondering if there was any evidence of that.

明白了。我很欣賞你補充的細節。我只是想快速了解現場簽約的情況。這個季度進展如何？我這麼問是因為上個季度你說過，可能有些簽約因為某些原因從第四季延後到了今年。所以我想知道是否有任何證據表明確實如此。

It was pretty consistent all quarter. I think March was the biggest, but I'd have to look back at it. Sometimes, when you have 40 numbers in your head, you lose track of 5.

整個季度情況都比較穩定。我覺得三月增幅最大，但我得再查一下。有時候，腦子裡記著四十個數字，難免會漏掉五個。

Next question is coming from Ryan Merkel from William Blair.

下一個問題來自威廉·布萊爾的瑞安·默克爾。

I just have one question. Dan, you said that change is hard, and you feel good about where you're going. Can you just unpack what about the change is difficult? Or what about the changes is creating friction?

我只有一個問題。丹，你說過改變很難，但你對未來的方向感到滿意。能具體說說改變的難點在哪裡嗎？或者說，改變中哪些方面造成了阻礙？

I mentioned earlier that we split the U.S. into 2 business units 15 years ago. If we were to share numbers by business unit, you would find out that there's 2 different stories going on in the business right now. In the Eastern U.S., and there's no -- it's not a coincidence why Casey Miller stepped into running into the U.S. and why 8 years ago, I think it was 8 years ago, in the fall of '95, maybe 9 years ago, or 8.5 years, I asked Casey to step out of leading our, what we referred to as, the SEC, our Southeast Central region, which is basically Kentucky and Tennessee.

我之前提到過，15年前我們將美國業務拆分為兩個業務單位。如果我們依照業務單位來分析數據，你會發現目前業務發展呈現出兩種截然不同的情況。在美國東部，凱西·米勒接手美國業務並非偶然。大約8年前，我想應該是8年前，1995年秋季，也可能是9年前或8年半前，我請凱西卸任我們所謂的「東南中部地區」（SEC，基本上涵蓋肯塔基州和田納西州）的領導職務。

And I asked him to run the entire Eastern U.S. Casey's done a wonderful job. It doesn't mean we agree on everything and we don't, but has once in a while, that's good and healthy. But we asked Casey -- Jeff Watts asked Casey to run the U.S. business and put the best people in the best roles for us to find success of the organization. Our Western business unit was negative this quarter.

我請他負責整個美國東部。凱西做得非常出色。這並不代表我們事事意見一致，事實上我們也並非如此，但偶爾出現分歧是好事，也是健康的。我們請凱西——傑夫·沃茨——負責美國業務，並安排最優秀的人才擔任最合適的職位，以確保公司成功。我們西部業務部門本季出現虧損。

Our Eastern business unit was positive this quarter. Our Onsite signings aren't equally split between the Eastern U.S. and the Western U.S. And that's been true for a number of years. And change is hard from the standpoint. It can get entrenched into a successful business. I remember a number of years ago, and I'll pick on a particular market, and that was Des Moines, Iowa. Great market for us, great people.

我們東部業務部門本季業績良好。我們的現場簽約量在東部和西部地區並不均衡，這種情況已經持續多年。從某個角度來看，改變並非易事，它可能會根深蒂固地融入一個成功的企業。我記得幾年前，我舉個具體的例子，那就是愛荷華州的得梅因。對我們來說，那是一個很棒的市場，那裡的人也很優秀。

We have become more obsessed with how profitable we are and our returns in that market than we were about the joy of growth. And we stirred up that pot, and we made a change 5 years ago and said, no, we're about growth and expanding the people we partner with, as much as we are about making a great return for our shareholders because ultimately, the best answer for our shareholders and our employees is grow the business, grow the opportunity, grow the returns.

我們過去過度專注於獲利能力和市場回報，而忽略了成長帶來的喜悅。五年前，我們打破了這個局面，做出了改變。我們不再只專注於為股東創造豐厚回報，而是同樣重視成長和拓展合作夥伴。因為歸根究底，對股東和員工而言，最佳方案是發展業務、拓展機會、提升回報。

And I'm pleased to say that we've done that. In fact, I'm keeping my hand on a couple of things, I'm going to talk about in the annual meeting. One is some of the trade-offs we've made and some is looking at some discrete markets we're in and what those trade-offs have meant to a mature business who decided, you know what, I'm going to get dressed today a little differently than I have for the last 20 years, I'm going to go out and engage in the marketplace in a fundamentally different way and the people we've been promoting into leadership roles, whether it be branch managers, district managers or regional Vice Presidents as well as people like Casey Miller.

我很高興地說，我們已經做到了。事實上，我還有幾個問題要討論，我會在年會上談到。一個是我們所做的一些權衡取捨，另一個是審視我們所處的特定市場，以及這些權衡取捨對一家成熟的企業意味著什麼。這家企業決定，要改變過去20年的穿衣風格，以一種截然不同的方式參與市場，以及我們提拔到領導崗位的人員，無論是分行經理、區域經理還是區域副總裁，以及像凱西·米勒這樣的人。

We want people that have more joy in growing the business than in just harvesting the business. And Holden needs to keep us balanced because he just clutched his heart when I said that. We want to do both, but it's a growth issue. And sometimes you have to change how you go to market.

我們想要的是那些更享受業務成長而非僅僅享受業務成果的人。霍爾頓需要讓我們保持平衡，因為我說這話的時候，他摀住了胸口。我們想兩者兼顧，但這畢竟是成長的問題。有時候，你必須改變市場策略。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question is coming from Nigel Coe from Wolfe Research.

（操作說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Wolfe Research 的 Nigel Coe。

And Nigel, this will be our -- it's 5 minutes to the hour, so this will be our last question. And Nigel, go ahead.

奈傑爾，現在距離整點還有5分鐘，所以這將是我們的最後一個問題。奈傑爾，請開始吧。

This is actually [Will Frank] on for Nigel. I guess, first on price/cost, pricing flat in the quarter. I guess do you think that you can say price/cost positive if pricing remains flat. And then maybe just if you could let us know how pricing was in the quarter ex fasteners. That would be really helpful.

我是威爾·弗蘭克，替奈傑爾回答問題。首先，關於價格/成本，本季價格持平。如果價格保持持平，您認為可以認為價格/成本為正嗎？其次，如果您能告訴我們本季不計緊固件的價格情況，那就太好了。

Pricing ex fasteners remains positive. And pricing at this point is, frankly, within that kind of 0% to 2% range. And so you can kind of conclude that whatever we're negative on fasteners is being largely offset, maybe a little more than offset with nonfasteners. And at this point, to be honest, the pricing environment is fairly unremarkable, which is why we're not giving it as much time and energy in our dialogue. So that's probably how I would characterize that. And I'm sorry, what was the first part I might have missed?

不含緊固件的定價依然保持積極態勢。坦白說，目前的價格波動幅度在0%到2%之間。因此，我們可以得出結論：緊固件的負面影響很大程度上被非緊固件的正面影響所抵消，甚至可能抵消更多。老實說，目前的定價環境相當平淡，所以我們沒有在討論中投入太多時間和精力。這就是我對當前情況的概括。抱歉，我可能漏掉了什麼？

Thank you. We reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back over to management for any further or closing comments.

謝謝。問答環節到此結束。現在我想把發言權交還給管理階層，請他們再補充或作總結發言。

Thank you again for joining us on the call today. We'll be having our annual meeting here in a couple of weeks. It's on a Thursday. I believe it's the 25th, but it's a Thursday, and I don't have calendar in front of me. And I'd like to share a trip I did last week, got the opportunity to go out and visit our folks at Holo-Krome out in Connecticut. And Holo-Krome is an organization we acquired back in 2009, it was in the process of being shut down and that production moving offshore, and we didn't want to see the loss of a domestic manufacturer of their quality and their status in the United States, so we've acquired it.

再次感謝您今天參加我們的電話會議。我們將在幾週後召開年度會議，時間是星期四。我記得是25號，但那天是星期四，手邊沒有日曆。我想和您分享我上週的行程，我有機會去康乃狄克州拜訪了我們的同事們—Holo-Krome公司。 Holo-Krome是我們2009年收購的公司，當時它正面臨倒閉，生產也即將轉移到海外。我們不想看到美國失去像Holo-Krome這樣高品質、高地位的本土製造商，所以我們收購了它。

I was pleased to have the opportunity to go out there and celebrate tenure. There were 5 individuals, and this is a business with 100-and-some employees. But there were 5 individuals out there who celebrated 40-plus years with Fastenal. We went up to celebrate that. All told, there were 20-plus people in that organization with more than 25 years of experience, a combination of, obviously, Holo-Krome and Holo-Krome being a partner to -- joining the Fastenal organization back in 2009, great trip, great people. We keep finding people like that, we'll be successful in this market for years to come. Thanks, everybody. Have a great day.

我很高興有機會去那裡慶祝員工的長期服務。我們公司有100多名員工，但只有5位員工在Fastenal工作了40多年。我們去那裡是為了慶祝他們的成就。總的來說，公司裡有20多位員工擁有超過25年的工作經驗，這其中既有Holo-Krome的員工，也有Holo-Krome的合作夥伴──他們於2009年加入Fastenal。這是一次很棒的旅行，遇到了很棒的人。如果我們能繼續找到這樣的人才，我們未來幾年在這個市場一定會成功。謝謝大家。祝大家今天愉快。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you. That does conclude today's teleconference webcast. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and have a wonderful day. We thank you for your participation today.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。您可以斷開連接了，祝您度過美好的一天。感謝您今天的參與。