Sales increased 4 percent from the same month last year.
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Of the 21 major commodity groups, 3 were down, 14 were up and 4 were unchanged.
Four of the eight subsectors posted margin gains.
Economy could decelerate to 2 percent growth by the end of the year, researcher says.
Manufacturing industrial production rose 1.1 percent in December after edging up 0.1 percent in November.
This issue features the results of our first Baird/MDM quarterly survey of 2019. Though the picture it paints is far from crystal clear and there are still many reasons to be optimistic about the industrys immediate future, its looking more likely that in 2019 well be reaching the end point of the current business cycle and heading into some unsettled times economically.
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Since 2010, Robert W. Baird & Co., in partnership with Modern Distribution Management, has conducted quarterly surveys of distributors and manufacturers to gauge business trends and the outlook for the industry. This quarter’s survey polled approximately 500 industry leaders to determine the latest indicators on revenue and pricing based on fourth-quarter 2018 results and distributor and manufacturer expectations for first-quarter and full-year 2019.
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A year ago, at the beginning of 2018, all indicators suggested that the economic and stock market fundamentals were in place for a year of solid growth in the U.S. economy. And while that turned out to be the case for the first three quarters of the year, as 2018 ended the economic signals became more mixed, suggesting that the economy might be entering a period of slowdown. However, whether we are in for a soft landing or something more painful remains to be seen and depends on a number of moving parts.
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Chrissy Nardini to replace Brian Peirce on board.
The decline in November mainly reflected lower sales of petroleum and coal products.
Survey from The Conference Board finds that global political instability, leader development and trade are top issues for C-suite executives this year.
Three key themes for distributors are shaping the year ahead.
Orders for machine tools and related equipment rise seven percent year-over-year, association says.
In Part 1 of this series, we presented the results of an MDM survey about distributor marketing, focusing on the level of success they are currently having in their marketing efforts and to what extent they are deploying the various kinds of marketing vehicle (SEO, social media, e-mail, print and telemarketing). The overall trend we identified is that while distributors are slowly getting better at marketing, only a small portion (6 percent) can be classified as high performers. In Part 2 of the series, we explore two areas that distributors must improve on if they are to join that 6 percent and reap first-mover benefits.
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As we turn the page to 2019, many industry observers are offering predictions. Instead of following the crowd, however, David Gordon discusses some dynamics that are significantly affecting the electrical distribution channel.
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Confidence in distribution industry fundamentals appears sound for 2019, but with indicators for moderating growth, according to preliminary results of MDMs 2019 Industry Outlook Survey. Heres a sneak preview of survey highlights.
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At 54.1, PMI remains in positive territory but shows sharp decline from November.
Of the 21 major commodity groups, 17 were up.
Annualized growth through November was 11.1 percent.
