January 2009 - Page 6 of 6 - Modern Distribution Management

January 2009

Mid-America Business Conditions Index at a Record Low

Creighton University's Mid-America Business Conditions Index was at a record low of 33.0 for December. The report, found here, is based on a survey of supply managers in the region. An index of 50 is considered growth-neutral."

The survey showed job losses for the eleventh time in the past 12 months. Inflation has turned to deflation, and export orders have plunged. North Dakota and Oklahoma are the only states in the region where leading economic indicators are above "growth-neutral."
 
A Creighton economics professor and the head of the university's Economic Forecasting Group says that ...

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EMS Group Acquires Cowboy Valve & Fittings

Energy Maintenance Services Group I, LLC, Houston, TX, has acquired valve and fittings distributor Cowboy Valve & Fittings, Inc., Beaumont, TX. The acquisition expands EMS Group's offerings by adding a product division to the organization.
 
EMS Group employs more than 2,000 people and provides a full range of O&M services on approximately 20,000 miles of pipeline through eight service lines. ...

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Cretex Co. Buys Meier Tool & Engineering

Diversified manufacturer Cretex Companies, Elk River, MN, has acquired Meier Tool & Engineering, Anoka, MN. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
 
Meier manufactures miniature and micro-sized stamped components and sub-assemblies for the medical, aerospace and defense, and specialty electronics markets. Meier will become part of Cretex's Commerical Products Group. Founder Richard Meier and the established management team will continue with the acquired company.
 
Cretex employs about 2,000 people in 10 ...

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BMHC Announces More Closures, Consolidations

Building Materials Holding Corp., San Francisco, CA, a provider of building materials and construction services to professional residential builders and contractors, announced it will close several additional facilities in an effort to continue to align costs with current market conditions.
 
BMHC will close all of its operations located in Northern Nevada, including Reno and Sparks facilities. Greater Portland, OR, market operations will be consolidated to the Vancouver, WA, facility, closing a site in Sherwood, OR. In Marysville, CA, BMHC will consolidate its lumber and building materials distribution and wall panel manufacturing operations into its existing Modesto, CA facilities. Other operational consolidations will occur in Texas, Colorado and Arizona.
 
These ...

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Manufacturing Contracts in December

The U.S. manufacturing sector contracted in December for the fifth consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business.

According to ISM, manufacturing activity declined at a rapid rate in December. The decline covers all industries, as none of the industries in the sector reported growth. New orders have contracted for 13 consecutive months, and are at the lowest level on record going back to January 1948.

Order backlogs have fallen to the lowest level since ISM began tracking the Backlog of Orders Index in January 1993. Manufacturers are reducing inventories and shutting down capacity to offset the slower rate of activity.

...

Manufacturing Contracts in December Read More »

Latin America Manufacturing Production Growth to Slow

The manufacturing industry in Latin America continued expanding during the first three quarters of 2008, underpinned by strong growth in Brazil and Argentina, but a new report says macroeconomic conditions in the region have deteriorated, and growth expectations for 2009 have dropped sharply. Manufacturing production growth will decelerate appreciably in 2009, according to the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI Latin America Outlook: 2008-2009, a bi-annual analysis that examines the latest trends and provides a near-term forecast for 16 major industries.

The report focuses on Latin America's three largest economies-Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico-as these countries are responsible for more than 80% of the ...

Latin America Manufacturing Production Growth to Slow Read More »

Purvis Industries Buys Bearing Belt Chain

Purvis Industries, Dallas, TX, has acquired Bearing Belt Chain, a three-location regional power transmission and motion control distributor serving Southern Nevada, Southwestern Utah and Northwestern Arizona.
 
Bearing Belt Chain has locations in Las Vegas, NV, St. George, UT, and Kingman, AZ, serving a range of customers with bearings, v-belts, drives, electric motors, clutches, and power transmission equipment.
 
We're excited about bringing a strong organization such as Bearing Belt Chain into the Purvis Industries family of companies. We believe Steve Philpott has put together a great team and a formidable business that will enhance Purvis Industries and our expansion efforts, said Cameron Barker, vice president of corporate operations for ...

Purvis Industries Buys Bearing Belt Chain Read More »

Manufacturing Contracts in December

The U.S. manufacturing sector contracted in December for the fifth consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business.

According to ISM, manufacturing activity declined at a rapid rate in December. The decline covers all industries, as none of the industries in the sector reported growth. New orders have contracted for 13 consecutive months, and are at the lowest level on record going back to January 1948.

Order backlogs have fallen to the lowest level since ISM began tracking the Backlog of Orders Index in January 1993. Manufacturers are reducing inventories and shutting down capacity to offset the slower rate of activity.

Manufacturing Contracts in December Read More »

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