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2009

Grainger April Sales Fall 15%

Companies, Facilities Maintenance (MRO), Free, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Grainger, Chicago, IL, reported sales in April 2009 declined 15% versus April 2008, primarily the result of weak demand across all customer end-markets and geographies.
 
Foreign exchange negatively affected sales by 2 percentage points.
 
U.S. segment sales were down 14%; Canadian sales were down 26% (down 11% in local currency). Other business sales were down …

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Kaman Sales Up 2.9% In 1Q

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

Kaman Corp., Bloomfield, CT, reported sales for the first quarter ended April 3, 2009, were $294 million, up 2.9% from first quarter 2008. Profit declined 39.3% to $5.4 million. Stability in the Aerospace group offset slower sales from the Industrial Distribution segment.
 
"The impact of the current economic environment is being felt industry-wide, and KIT is no exception. The market softness we experienced at the end of 2008 continued in the first quarter of 2009, said T. Jack Cahill, president of Kaman Industrial Technologies. In response, we have taken a number of actions to reduce our operating costs, scale the business to match the marketplace conditions and protect profitability, with the costs of some of these steps affecting segment performance …

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ISM Semiannual Economic Forecast: Expectations Weaken

Economic Trends, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

Manufacturing purchasing and supply executives expect the economic decline in the U.S. to continue through the remainder of 2009, according to the latest semiannual forecast issued by the Business Survey Committee of the Institute for Supply Management.

While 15 percent of respondents predict revenues to be 13.7 percent greater in 2009 than in 2008, an overall revenue decrease of 14.7 percent is expected for manufacturing as 67 percent expect a 25.2 percent decline, and 18 percent expect no change. This represents a significant decline in expectations from December 2008 when the panel of supply management executives predicted a 1.1 percent decrease in 2009 revenues compared to 2008.
 
Here’s a breakdown of the survey …

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Behind the Motion Industries-General Tool Deal

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

Motion Industries has purchased another industrial supplies distributor, once again broadening its reach in the sector. The acquired company’s leadership talks in this article about how they came to the decision to sell their business to the fast-growing Genuine Parts Co. subsidiary.
 
Motion Industries continues to grow its industrial supplies business, this time expanding its reach in the West. The $3.5 billion power transmission/bearings distributor, a subsidiary of Genuine Parts Co., announced May 7 it has acquired General Tool & Supply Co., Portland, OR. It is one of many industrial supplies-focused acquisitions the company has made in the past few years.

The acquisition of General Tool & Supply includes its sister company, Tucson, …

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The Chrysler Bankruptcy Ripple Effect

Features, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

Distributors that serve the auto industry and related sectors say that the bankruptcy of the first of the Big Three automakers will have a broad impact; they anticipate some distributors may even fail as a result. This article looks at what some distributors say could occur.

Following the bankruptcy filing by Chrysler LLC and the potential filing by General Motors at the end of May, many distributors are preparing to turn to Washington to make the government aware of the broad impact these actions will have on the hidden industry of wholesale distribution.

"Chrysler's bankruptcy is going to have a much wider effect than people realize," says Drew Tucci, director of marketing and sales at Eastern Bearings Inc., Waltham, MA, and …

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MDM Interview: Partnering with Private Equity

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

Anixter International’s former president and CEO, Bob Grubbs, is using his 30 years in the distribution business in a new role with Irving Place Capital; the private equity firm is looking to increase its focus on investments in distribution companies.

Grubbs says he was attracted to the firm because it is committed to understanding the industry. “The model made a lot of sense to me,” he says.

Among the 50 investments Irving Place Capital has made: Aearo Technologies (sold in 2006 to Permira Advisers, which sold it to 3M in 2007); MultiPackaging Solutions (which recently completed a sixth add-on acquisition); and ReddyIce, a manufacturer and distributor of packaged ice products.

Anixter, where Grubbs has spent his entire career, …

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Protecting Your Knowledge Base

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

MDM recently spoke with experts on the topic of institutional knowledge retention, and the importance of putting into place a framework for making knowledge transfer part of the company culture. This article looks at the key elements to keep in mind.


Many companies are running leaner these days.

The situation – driven by downsizing and retirements – can trigger a loss of knowledge critical to the business, an issue many managers are facing. That’s something that managers everywhere in every industry overlook frequently when adjusting their work force, says David DeLong, author of “Lost Knowledge: Confronting the Threat of an Aging Workforce.”

Factor into the equation higher turnover among younger …

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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