It was a good, but not a great year online in fiscal 2019 for MSC Industrial Supply Co.

For the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, MSC reported ecommerce sales of $2.019 billion, an increase of 5% from ecommerce sales of $1.926 billion in fiscal 2018. Total sales in fiscal 2019 were $3.363 billion compared with $3.203 billion in fiscal 2018.

MSC, a large distributor of industrial equipment based in Melville, NY, includes transactions through its internet vending machines and its flagship website, MSCDirect.com, as well as electronic data interchange and vendor managed inventory systems in its ecommerce sales.

The last 12 months was a tougher time for MSC to maintain growth in markets that are beginning to soften, CEO Erik Gershwind told Wall St. analysts on the company’s recent year-end earnings call.

“We are seeing some customers and suppliers eliminate shifts and in some pockets restructure including layoffs,” Gershwind told analysts. “We are also hearing of shrinking order backlog. In terms of end markets, the weakness in industrial demand is broad based with some acute pockets of softness in areas like automotive, heavy truck, oil and gas and agriculture.”

For the fourth quarter, ecommerce grew year over year 5% to $505.5 million from $501.0 million. In comparison, total sales were flat at $842.7 million compared with from $838.0 million in fiscal 2008.

Net income in the fourth quarter was $66.6 million compared with $73.0 million in the fourth quarter of the prior year. For the full year net income was $288.9 million vs. $329.2 million in fiscal 2018. “With regards to the pricing environment, the overhang of uncertainty due to tariffs and decelerating global macro-economic growth, combined with the price scrutiny that typically comes when customers’ businesses slowdown, did result in softening,” Gershwind said.