Hello, this is Laura Brown, Senior Vice President of Communications and Investor Relations. With me is Bill Chapman, Director of Investor Relations. The purpose of this audio webcast is to provide you with some additional color and perspective on Grainger’s Fourth Quarter 2011 Results. Please be sure to reference our earnings release issued January 25th in addition to other information available on our Investor Relations website, to supplement this webcast. Before we go any further, please remember that certain statements and projections of future results made in the press release and in this webcast constitute forward-looking information. These statements are based on current market conditions and competitive and regulatory expectations and involve risk and uncertainty. Please see our Form 10-K for a discussion of factors that relate to forward-looking statements. Strong sales growth across all businesses and acceleration in spending on our growth programs was the story for the quarter. Continued strong organic sales performance in the quarter with 9% volume growth is evidence that we continue to gain market share. For the 2011 fourth quarter, the company reported record sales of $2.1 billion, an increase of 14% versus $1.8 billion in the 2010 quarter. Net earnings of $148 million increased 12% and earnings per share of $2.04 increased 11% versus a $1.83 in 2010. In the earnings release and at the end of this podcast script, we provided a walk down of items to help explain results for the quarter and highlight what items were not reflected in our guidance. The 2011 fourth quarter included a $0.16 per share charge from the closure of 27 branches in the U.S. business and a $0.07 per share gain from the sale of our 49% ownership in a joint venture MRO Korea. These two items combined represented a $0.09 net reduction to…

Thanks, Laura. The story behind the company’s operating results in the quarter can best be told by reviewing segment performance. So, let’s begin with the United States. Reported operating earnings in the United States increased 5% versus the 2010 fourth quarter up 15% excluding the charge related to the 2011 branch closures and the 2010 paid time off benefit. The growth and operating earnings was primarily driven by the 8% sales growth and improved gross profit margins. Gross profit margins for the quarter increased 170 basis points driven primarily by price increases exceeding cost increases, positive selling mix from a decline in sales of lower margin sourced products primarily attributable to the oil spill in 2010, growth of our private label business, and lower excess and obsolete requirements. Operating expenses in the U.S. increased 15% on a reported basis, 10% excluding the two items just noted. The 10% increase in operating expenses was driven by higher volume related expenses and growth-related spending including new sales representatives, eCommerce, advertising and incremental expenses for the 800,000 square foot distribution center in Northern California. One of the growth programs that contributed to the operating expense growth in the quarter was our sales force expansion. We hired our 6th wave of Territory Sales Representatives or TSRs, and now have more than 500 of these new sales representatives calling on customers across the United States. As we shared at our Analyst Meeting in November, we’re very excited about the additional reach these sellers provide as they call on both existing and prospective customers. We estimate that TSRs will account for approximately 1 percentage point of our expected sales growth in 2012 and 2 percentage points in 2013. On average, a TSR cost approximately 40% less than an Account Manager and are generating sales with a…