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May 2009

MDM News Digest 3909

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Kennametal, Latrobe, PA, has acquired ROMICRON technology and manufacturing from Industrias Romi S.A. Kennametal has been the global distributor of ROMICRON for the past 14 years. The ROMICRON technology and manufacturing will be integrated into Kennametal’s Indaiatuba, Brazil, location and will help to strengthen the company’s holemaking and precision hole finishing portfolio.

DXP Enterprises, Houston, TX, reported sales fell 6.5 percent to $157.6 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009. Excluding sales by three acquired businesses, sales for the first quarter of 2009 decreased 14.9 percent from the first quarter of 2008 on a same-store sales basis. Profit was $3.17 million, down from $5.4 million in the same period a year ago.

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MDM Industrial Inflation Index: March 2009

Economic Trends, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

Modern Distribution Management’s March Inflation Index, which measures a cross-section of industrial supplies, was up 0.01% from the previous month, and up 6.34% from March 2008.
 
Please click below to view a print-ready pdf of the MDM Inflation Index for March 2009, listing the 10 individual product categories that make up the …

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MDM May 10, 2009

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This is the pdf of this issue of Modern Distribution Management. Apply the full $24.95 pay-per-view cost toward an annual subscription (within 30 days of purchase), which includes two issues a month plus access to more than seven years of online archives and market data. Call 1-888-742-5060 or email info@mdm.com to …

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Commentary: New Skills for the Times

Free, Human Resources in Wholesale Distribution, Management, Operations, Perspective, Strategy, Subscriber Only /

The nation’s largest banks are undergoing stress tests right now to determine their degree of leverage and financial health. On one level, it appears a little like getting the 300-pound heart-attack victim who has been eating jelly doughnuts for 20 years onto a treadmill. A five-minute exercise on a machine you’re not used to won’t solve the core problem. I think there’s a lesson for our industry.

Distributors and manufacturers have been undergoing stress tests of a different nature for at least the past 12 months. Nearly every company we talk with has had to make significant structural changes in their organization, including layoffs. Some let employees go for the first time in decades. Your current team has had to adapt and take on more complex …

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YTD, Machine Tool Consumption Off 68.6% in 2009

Economic Trends, Free, News, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

March U.S. manufacturing technology consumption was $162.94 million, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association, and the Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was up 22.3% from February but down 71.9% from the total of $579.73 million reported for March 2008. With a year-to-date total of $397.56 million, 2009 is down 68.6% compared with 2008.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program.

We are pleased that the monthly totals have continued to increase since the historic lows that we saw in January, said Peter Borden, AMTDA president. “This bounce may have been due to …

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HVACR Sales Down 10.8% in March

Free, HVACR, News, Plumbing Products & PVF Distribution, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Heating, Airconditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) announced national HVACR distributor sales for the month of March 2009 were (at median) down 10.8% when compared to March 2008 in its Monthly Targeted and Regional Economic News for Distribution Strategies Report. The HARDI West Region posted the steepest decline of 32.7%. However, three Regions reported sales gains in March – Southwest (+15.7%), Great Lakes (+3.6%) and Canada (+0.6%).
 
By sales volume, only the small firm category ($5 million or less) posted a sales gain for March at +11%. Median Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) stood at 52.43 days up 1.2 days from February 2009.
 
For more information about HARDI’s Monthly TRENDS Reports, including access to the complete …

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Kennametal Acquires ROMICRON

Building Materials/Construction, Finance, Free, Mergers & Acquisitions, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Kennametal, Latrobe, PA, has acquired ROMICRON technology and manufacturing from Industrias Romi S.A.
 
Kennametal has been the global distributor of ROMICRON for the past 14 years.
 
The ROMICRON technology and manufacturing will be integrated into Kennametal’s Indaiatuba, Brazil, location and will help to strengthen the company’s market holemaking and precision hole finishing portfolio.
 
Kennametal Inc. is a global supplier of tooling, engineered components and advanced materials consumed in production processes. As of the prior fiscal year end, sales were $2.7 billion with more than 50 percent of these revenues coming from outside North America. …

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Beacon Roofing Supply Sales Up 4.9% in 2Q

Building Materials/Construction, Companies, Free, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc., Peabody, MA, reported sales for the second quarter 2009 increased 4.9% to $319.3 million from the prior-year period.
 
Residential roofing sales increased 37.2% while non-residential (commercial) roofing and complementary product sales declined 12.6% and 27.1%, respectively. Residential roofing sales benefited from year-over-year price increases as well as from strong, although diminishing, re-roofing activity in markets that were affected by Hurricane Ike.
 
Non-residential sales slowed due, in part, to adverse winter conditions in the Company’s markets that have the largest concentration of commercial business. Complementary product sales continued to be negatively impacted by both the slowdown in the economy and lower levels of new …

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March Wholesale Revenues Decrease 1.6%

Economic Trends, Finance, Free, News, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

March 2009 sales of merchant wholesalers were $310.9 billion, down 2.4 percent from the revised February level and were down 18.1 percent from the March 2008 level, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The February preliminary estimate was revised downward $1.2 billion or 0.4 percent.
 
March sales of durable goods were down 3.3 percent from last month and were down 19.6 percent from a year ago. Sales of metals and minerals, except petroleum, were down 10.6 percent from last month and sales of electrical and electronic goods were down 5.9 percent.
 
Sales of nondurable goods were down 1.6 percent from last month and were down 16.9 percent from last year. Sales of petroleum and petroleum products were down 5.1 percent from last month and sales of chemicals and …

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DXP Enterprises Sales Fall 14.9% in 1Q

Companies, Free, News, Power Transmission/Motion Control/Fluid Power, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

DXP Enterprises, Houston, TX, reported sales fell 6.5% to $157.6 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009.
 
Excluding sales by three acquired businesses, sales for the first quarter of 2009 decreased 14.9% from the first quarter of 2008 on a same-store sales basis.
 
Profit was $3.17 million, down from $5.4 million in the same period a year ago.
 
DXP attributed the sales decrease to a broad-based decrease in sales of pumps, bearings, safety products and mill supplies, due to a general decline in the …

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Expectations Weaken for Manufacturing in 2009

Economic Trends, Free, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

The Institute for Supply Management has released its spring 2009 Semiannual Economic Forecast, which shows that expectations for the remainder of 2009 have weakened in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors.

The manufacturing summary, as presented by ISM:
While 15% of respondents predict revenues to be 13.7% greater in 2009 than in 2008, an overall revenue decrease of 14.7% is expected for manufacturing as 67% expect a 25.2% decline, and 18% expect no change. This represents a significant decline in expectations from December 2008 when the panel of supply management executives predicted a 1.1% decrease in 2009 revenues compared to 2008. With operating capacity at 67%, an expected capital investment decline of 22.7% and prices expected to decrease 5.3% …

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Motion Industries Buys General Tool and Supply

Companies, Finance, Free, Mergers & Acquisitions, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Motion Industries, Birmingham, AL, a subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company, has acquired General Tool and Supply, a regional industrial supplies distributor based in Portland, OR. Motion has also acquired General Tool’s subsidiary Industrial Tool and Supply, Tucson, AZ.
 
General Tool has four locations in Oregon, Washington and Idaho; and Industrial Tool and Supply has two locations in Arizona.
 
General Tool President Bill Derville will remain with the company; the business will continue to be managed as General Tool and Supply, and Industrial Tool and Supply.
 
General Tool stocks hand tools, power tools, precision tools, cutting tools, electronics tools and supplies, construction tools, abrasives, hoists, safety supplies, chemicals, and janitorial …

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BlueLinx Sales Decline 43.2% In 1Q

Building Materials/Construction, Free, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

BlueLinx Holdings Inc., Atlanta, GA, a distributor of building products in North America, reported sales decreased 43.2% to $407.1 million for the first quarter ended April 4, 2009. The company incurred a net loss of $60.7 million, compared with a net loss of $10.6 million for first quarter 2008.
 
The sales decline was mainly due to lower unit volumes in both structural and specialty products driven by a 51% decline in housing starts relative to year-ago levels.
 
BlueLinx preciously announced an agreement with Georgia-Pacific to terminate a supply agreement, which will result in Georgia-Pacific paying BlueLinx four quarterly cash payments of $4.7 million beginning on May 1, 2009. …

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Canadian Wholesale Sales Down Slightly In February

Economic Trends, Free, News, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

Canadian wholesale sales fell 0.6% to $41 billion in February, the sixth decline in seven months, according to Statistics Canada. Declining sales in the machinery and equipment trade group and the "other products" sector were major factors contributing to this decrease. In terms of the volume of sales, wholesale sales were flat.

Canadian wholesalers sell to both the domestic and international markets, and are active importers and exporters. The decline in sales reflected both lower export demand for Canadian goods, a significant part of which flows through wholesale markets, and weaker sales in .

In February, four out of seven sectors, accounting for over two-thirds of total wholesale sales, posted declines. The machinery and electronic …

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Wolseley: Joint Venture Deal for Stock Building Supply

Building Materials/Construction, Companies, Finance, Free, Mergers & Acquisitions, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

UK-based building materials distributor Wolseley plc has entered into a joint venture of Stock Building Supply with affiliates of U.S.-based The Gores Group LLC. Wolseley will retain a 49% equity interest. One hundred percent of the shares of Stock will be sold to a new joint venture company called NewCo.

Wolseley will hold two board seats in the joint venture. The distributor will continue to be called Stock Building Supply and will be led by the existing Stock management team, including Joe Appelmann as president.
 
A pre-packaged Chapter 11 reorganization plan will facilitate the sale, according to the distributor. This allows for all trade creditors to be paid, and according to Wolseley, will create a "substantially lower cost base." Obligations to …

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Canadian Industrial Product Price Index Edges Up In March

Economic Trends, Free, News, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

The Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) rose 0.3% in March compared with February, due to the depreciation of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar and higher prices for primary metals, according to Statistics Canada. The Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI) advanced 12.1% compared with February, pushed up by a strong increase in crude oil prices.
 
Motor vehicles and other transport equipment rose 0.9%, as a result of the depreciation of the Canadian dollar in relation to its US counterpart. Prices for primary metal products increased 1.3%, pushed up by copper and copper alloys in primary forms. These increases were offset in part by lower prices for metal fabricated products, petroleum and coal products as well as chemical products.
 
The …

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PT/MC Distributor Sales Growth Lower Than Anticipated In 2009

Free, News, Power Transmission/Motion Control/Fluid Power, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Revealing the profit challenges and opportunities in the power transmission/motion control industry, the 2009 PT Distributor Performance Report released by the Power Transmission Distributors Association indicates that the typical PT/MC distributor experienced an increase in gross margins but slower sales growth than anticipated at the beginning of the year. 
 
When asked in October 2007 to forecast sales for 2008, just over 50% of distribution firms anticipated growth in sales of between 5% and 14.9%.  The actual sales growth rate for the median PTDA distributor, was lower than anticipated at 1.7%.  As for gross margins, 80% forecasted growth in gross margins in the range of 0 to 1.9%.  According to the data collected for the PT Distributor …

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Airgas 4Q Sales Fall 9%

Companies, Free, Gases & Welding Equipment, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, a U.S. distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases, and welding, safety, and related products, reported sales of $992 million for fourth quarter ended March 31, 2009, down 9% from the prior year. Profit declined 12.4% to $56.5 million. Same-store sales declined 13% in the quarter.
 
For the full year, sales increased 8% to $4.3 billion. Acquisitions contributed 7% sales growth in the year, while total same-store sales grew 1%, with hardgoods down 4% and gas and rent up 4%. Airgas completed 14 acquisitions in fiscal 2009. Profit increased 16.9% to $261 million.
 
"The current environment puts a damper on what was a record year for Airgas in earnings and cash flow, but we’re using this time to strengthen our operations so that …

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NetSuite Posts Loss Of $3.7 Million In 1Q

Free, News, Subscriber Only, Technology /

NetSuite Inc., San Mateo, CA, a vendor of on-demand, integrated business management software suites, reported sales for the first quarter of 2009 totaled $41.6 million, 22% higher than the first quarter of 2008.  The company recorded a net loss of $3.7 million for the quarter.
 
Revenue from the Americas for the first quarter of 2009 was $33.6 million, while revenue from international regions was $8.0 …

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Q&A with Global Plastics Letter Publisher Mel Ettenson

Chemicals & Plastics Distribution, Free, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Plastics industry veteran Mel Ettenson, publisher of Global Plastics Letter, will start to post occasional contributions to the MDM Blog based on his most recent issue or other happenings in the plastics industry.
 
Below is a quick interview I conducted with him to introduce him to MDM readers. His newsletter can be found at www.globalplasticsletter.com.

MDM: What is your history in the plastics industry?
 
Ettenson: I have been in the plastics industry for almost 50 years. Starting with several manufacturing companies in the plastics composites sector and then into marketing and distribution with several global plastic semi-finished shapes distributors including …

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