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Breaking news in Wholesale Distribution
US Electrical Services, LLC, Exton, PA, has acquired Pioneer Electric Supply, Beltsville, MD.
Pioneer has been supplying the needs of electrical contractors in greater Washington, DC for almost 16 years.  ; The company focuses primarily on large and small new construction and renovation projects.  ;
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Pioneer will join four other area USESI-owned locations in the area.
By joining Electrical Wholesalers, we are able to compliment our strong project job capabilities with EW’s impressive warehousing and logistics capabilities.  ; Our customers and employees both benefit in a big way,” said Jeff Bacon, who along with all Pioneer employees, will remain with the business.
“Pioneer has a great team, a great history of strong customer …
The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 0.9 percent in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. This advance followed a 0.7-percent rise in April and a 1.0-percent increase in March.
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The index for finished goods excluding foods and energy moved up 0.2 percent in May after remaining unchanged in April. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by producers of intermediate goods increased 1.1 percent in May after advancing 0.9 percent a month earlier, and the crude goods index turned up 2.0 percent following a decline of 1.5 percent in April.
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Among finished goods, the index for consumer goods less foods and energy moved up 0.3 percent in May after inching down 0.1 percent in the previous …
Technology distributor Ingram Micro Inc., Santa Ana, CA, has agreed to buy DBL Distributing Inc., Scottsdale, AZ, a distributor of consumer electronics accessories and related products with 2006 sales of nearly $300 million. The purchase price is $96 million.
The deal strengthens Ingram Micro’s position in a higher-margin niche of the consumer electronics market. Ingram Micro reported $31 billion in fiscal 2006 annual sales, and overall gross margin of 5.4%.
The Consumer Electronics Association estimates the consumer electronics market at $155 billion in 2007, with the accessories market at $11 billion. The industry is forecast to grow at 7% in 2007 following a 13% growth rate in 2006. An industry analyst told MDM the sub-category of consumer electronics accessories is …
April U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $281.54 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 down 27.2% from March, but up 2.2% from the total of $275.43 million reported for April 2006. With a year-to-date total of $1,259.09 million, 2007 was up 8.7% compared with 2006.
These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program.
Strength in the oil field and auto sectors has brought increased demand in the Central region of the country,” said John B. Byrd III. “Through April this region has the greatest increase in …
Fuel costs have hit a record high in the past month, staying above $3 a gallon, and that is causing no shortage of headaches in the distribution world. Past surveys done by MDM in collaboration with Channel Marketing Group, Raleigh, NC, indicate that many distributors simply pass on the increased fuel costs to customers. (Stem the Tide: Rising Fuel Costs, MDM, May 25, 2006)
Distributors have implemented a fuel surcharge or service change for deliveries, increased existing charges, or implemented a delivery charge on orders under a minimum-dollar value. Some are integrating the added cost into the product price.
In light of higher fuel costs, look at your current minimum order size. Should it be …
RBC Bearings Incorporated, Oxford, CT, an international manufacturer of highly-engineered precision plain, roller and ball bearings for the industrial, defense and aerospace industries, reported sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007, were $306.1 million, an increase of 11.5% from the prior year. Profit was $28.5 million, up 128% from the year before.
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Sales in the fourth quarter 2007 were $81 million, an increase of 7% from the same period a year ago. Profit was $6.7 million, compared with $6 million a year ago. …
The industrial producer price index rose by 0.4% in the euro area in April 2007. In March, prices increased by 0.3%.
In April 2007, compared with April 2006, industrial producer prices gained 2.4% in the euro area.
The highest monthly increases were registered in Bulgaria and Greece (1.9%) and Denmark (1.8%). Decreases were recorded in the United Kingdom (-0.8%), Slovakia (-0.3%) and Belgium (-0.1%).
The highest year-over-year increases were recorded in Luxembourg (8.7%), Hungary (8%), Bulgaria (7.9%)  ; and Lithuania (7.3%). A decrease was registered in Denmark.
For more on European economic statistics, including industrial production, price indexes, construction output and industrial orders,  ; visit the MDM …
Mayer Electric Supply Inc. has acquired Southeast Supply in Calhoun, Ga., as its 58th branch, the Birmingham Business Journal reported.
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Mayer Electric Supply is a distributor of electrical equipment and supplies, lighting, factory automation, tools and communications. Mayer serves eight states in the …
HD Supply, The Home Depot’s wholesale division, is cutting back on plans to grow in Charleston, SC. HD Supply’s lumber and building materials unit announced this week it will open a warehouse for contractors in North Charleston, according to the Charleston Post and Courier.
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The project replaces a larger one the company was planning. The location will be in an existing 65,000-square-foot building on five acres near Interstate 26.
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The scrapped project was to include a new lumber distribution center and manufacturing plant on 51 acres off of U.S. Highway 78, the paper reported.
In February, Home Depot announced it was considering strategic alternatives for HD Supply, including a possible sale or IPO. Home Depot has also – like other building …
Canadian industries slightly increased the use of their production capacity during the first quarter of  ; 2007, halting four consecutive quarters of decline.
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Capacity utilization edged up from  ; 82.4% in the fourth quarter of  ; 2006  ; to  ; 83.0%. This level was  ; 3.0  ; points below the rate posted in the fourth quarter of  ; 2005, before the quarterly drops observed in  ; 2006.
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The industrial capacity utilization rate is the ratio of an industry’s actual output to its estimated potential output. For this release, rates have been revised back to the first quarter of  ; 2005  ; to reflect the revised source data.
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Production rose slightly in the large manufacturing sector, but capacity use …
