Though the fallout for distributors from COVID-19 continued to be a hot topic in April, news on Amazon Business garnered the most attention from MDM readers during the month. New data show the enormous number of SKUs available on the platform and that it may be poised to become the top industrial distributor in the U.S.
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Year-to-date, the goods and services deficit decreased $28.1 billion, or 17.8%, from the same period in 2019.
The New Orders Index registered 27.1%, a decrease of 15.1% from the March reading.
So far, all but one participant in the Pandemic Revenue Index has realized an aggregate sales decline over the past five weeks with an average decline of 22.4%.
In the fourth quarter of 2019, real GDP increased 2.1%.
MDMs quarterly survey in partnership with investment banking firm Baird reveals a consensus among more than 600 participants: The industry began feeling the effects of the pandemic shutdown very quickly in March, with many expecting to experience an impact on business operations, supply chain, cash flow and even solvency through at least the end of the year.
Though the sales decline is much lower than previous weeks it is likely that this is not a reflection of significantly improving business conditions.
Indian River Consulting Groups weekly Pandemic Revenue Index for the week of April 6-10, 2020, indicated a 29.36% decline compared with the same week a year ago. The decline confirms that the improvement in the prior week was an anomaly.
Though n improvement over the previous week's number, the uplift in sales may be due to large back-orders shipping, and not an indication that the situation is improving. When the exceptional sales mentioned by participants are excluded, the sales drop off would be very consistent to what was seen the prior week.
Sales for HARDI distributor members decreased by 0.1% during February, according to its monthly TRENDS report. The average annualized sales growth for the 12 months through February 2020 is 4%.
The latest PRI adjusts the decline for the week of March 16-20 to -2.23% instead of the previously reported -5.56% due to an increase in survey participants and the loading of their historical data.
The Index offers distributors a weekly quantified view into how other distributors in the industry are faring with respect to revenue declines as the global COVID-19 pandemic progresses.
Latest Manufacturers Shipments, Inventories, and Orders Survey shows little growth overall, except for a few categories that continue to rise.
Distributors posted aggregate revenue growth (excluding acquisitions) of 0.8% during the fourth quarter of 2019 — below the 1.9% growth originally forecasted for the quarter, according to the latest Baird Industrial Distribution Survey, conducted in partnership with MDM. Growth decelerated 160 basis points versus the previous quarter, continuing the recent trend of sequentially moderating growth.So, […]
