FAST vs PCAR Comparison

Fastenal began as an industrial retailer, expanding its product portfolio from nuts and bolts to cutting tools, safety equipment, and janitorial supplies. It transitioned into a distributor by building out a dense network of branches close to its business customers. Once a customer becomes large enough, Fastenal installs vending machines and its own personnel on-site. Today, these on-site locations exceed Fastenal's branch count and remain the firm's main focus for expansion. Fastenal acts as a one-stop outsourcing partner for its industrial customers, offering value-added services along with a wide breadth of maintenance, repair, and operations supplies.

Paccar is a leading manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty trucks under the premium nameplates Kenworth and Peterbilt, which are primarily sold in the Americas and Australia, and DAF, which primarily services Europe and South America. The trucks segment (74% sales) goes to market through a network of 2,200 independent dealers. Paccar maintains an internal finance subsidiary that provides retail and wholesale financing for customers and dealers (6% sales). In recent years, Paccar has aggressively expanded its parts business (20% of sales), including engines, axles, and transmissions for its own truck brands as well as independent producers. The company commands approximately 30% of the Class 8 market share in North America and 15% of the heavy-duty market share in Europe.