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Breaking news in Wholesale Distribution
Hagemeyer NV reported organic revenue growth of 5.7% in the first half of 2007 compared with the first half 2006.
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Revenue was 3,117 million euro (US$4,207 million). Profit nearly doubled from the same period a year ago.
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Hagemeyer saw growth in all regions except North America, where organic sales in PPS were down 4.6% in the first half 2007. Sales in Professional Products and Services (Hagemeyer’s key business) in North America were US$849 million.
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In the U.S., sales in PPS fell by 5.5%. Two government contracts were not renewed in the first half, accounting for more than 2 percentage points of the drop. U.S. construction and installation business was flat. A decrease in residential business was offset by commercial sales.
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U.S. …
LN Acquisition Corp., St. Louis, MO, a Harbour Group company, has acquired Reelcraft Industries, Inc., Columbia City, IN.
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Reelcraft Industries, Inc., is a manufacturer of spring-driven hose, cord, and cable reels for use in industrial, automotive, aerospace, military and specialty applications.
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Reelcraft has facilities in the U.S., Canada, England and China. President Walt Sterneman will continue to lead the business after the transaction.
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Reelcraft will join Lincoln Industrial and Alemite within LN Acquisition.
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Bart Aitken, CEO of LN Acquisition, said: We don’t expect the marketplace to see significant changes; Lincoln, Alemite and Reelcraft will continue to market their products through their respective sales channels and …
According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, privately-owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,381,000. This is 6.1 percent below the revised June estimate of 1,470,000 and is 20.9 percent below the revised July 2006 rate of 1,746,000.
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Single-family housing starts in July were at a rate of 1,070,000; this is 7.3 percent below the June figure of 1,154,000. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 275,000.
Building Permits
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,373,000. This is 2.8 percent below the revised June rate of 1,413,000 and is 22.6 percent (& plusmn; 1.3%) below the …
June U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $347.70 million, according to The Association For Manufacturing Technology and the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was up 5.1% from May, and up 0.4% from the total of $346.47 million reported for June 2006. With a year-to-date total of $1,982.52 million, 2007 was up 7.7% compared with 2006.
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These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program.
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Through the first half of this year, manufacturers have continued to increase purchases of advanced production equipment,” said John B. Byrd III, AMT President. “These strategic investments …
In the face of continuing weakness in the housing sector, growth in the U.S. economy is expected to be slower than previously anticipated, according to a new Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI quarterly report.
The Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI Quarterly Economic Forecast predicts that inflation-adjusted GDP growth, 3.3 percent in 2006, will slow to 1.9 percent in 2007 before regaining some strength, rising to 2.5 percent in 2008.
The most recent forecast represents a pullback from the May 2007 report, when MAPI envisioned GDP to grow by 2.3 percent in 2007 and by 3.0 percent in 2008. By supplying major assumptions for the economy and running simulations through the Global Insight Macroeconomic Model, the Alliance generates unique macroeconomic and industry forecasts.
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Following last month’s jump in sales, U.S. distributors’sales of PT/MC products continue to increase with a 2.2 percent growth from May to June, according to the Power Transmission Distributors Association June 2007 month-end trend report. Year-to-year comparisons remain positive with sales in June 2007 coming in 4.7 percent higher than in June 2006. Accounts receivable collection days continue to decline, dropping 1.4 percent when compared to May. The June 2007confidence index for U.S. distributors remained unchanged for the fourth month in a row at 6.6 (on a 10-point scale).
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Canadian distributors’sales in PT/MC products fell 2.1 percent from May to June after a rise in last month’s sales. Year-to-year comparisons were relatively stable with a 0.3 percent increase over …
Thomas & Betts Corporation, Memphis, TN, has agreed to acquire Lamson & Sessions for $450 million in cash.
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Lamson & Sessions, with its Carlon brand and trademarked Blue Box, is a North American supplier of non-metallic electrical boxes, fittings, flexible conduit and industrial PVC pipe.
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For the calendar year 2008, Thomas & Betts’s preliminary assessment is that the acquisition will contribute $500 million to revenues.
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In addition, the company is assessing strategic options regarding Lamson & Sessions’ PVC pipe business, potentially resulting in a divestment of that unit.
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Thomas & Betts Corporation is a manufacturer of electrical components used in construction, industrial and utility markets. The company is also a …
Industrial production rose 0.3 percent in July after an increase of 0.6 percent in June. At 113.9 percent of its 2002 average, total industrial production in July was 1.4 percent above its year-earlier level. In July, manufacturing output moved up 0.6 percent and mining output advanced 0.7 percent, but the output of utilities fell 2.1 percent.
Capacity utilization for total industry edged up to 81.9 percent, a rate 0.5 percentage point below the level in July 2006 but 0.9 percentage point above its 1972-2006 average.
Full industrial production/capacity utilization details <a href=/databank/ipcu0707.pdf" ...
Wholesale prices advanced 0.6% in July, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. This increase followed a 0.2% decline in June and a 0.9% rise in May.
At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods rose 0.6% in July compared with a 0.5% gain in June, and the index for crude materials climbed 1.2% subsequent to a 0.3% increase a month earlier.
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Among prices for finished goods, the index for energy goods rose 2.5% in July following a 1.1% decrease in June. Prices for finished consumer foods inched down 0.1% after declining 0.8% in the previous month. By contrast, slightly counteracting the upturn in finished goods prices, the increase in the index for finished …
The Home Depot reported fiscal 2007 second quarter consolidated net earnings of $1.6 billion compared with $1.9 billion in the same period in fiscal 2006.
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Sales for the second quarter totaled $22.2 billion, a 1.8% decrease from the second quarter of fiscal 2006, reflecting negative comparable store sales of 5.2%, offset in part by sales from new stores.
In a conference call, Home Depot reported sales for HD Supply were down 7% overall, with organic sales down 10%.
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While the challenging housing market continues to present us with a tough selling environment, our financial performance was in line with our expectations,” said CEO Frank Blake.
“… We believe the housing and home improvement markets will remain soft into 2008; we will …
