News
Breaking news in Wholesale Distribution
Release taken from Statistics Canada, www.statcan.ca
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Manufacturers were more upbeat about their current situation and prospects for production and employment for the second quarter of  ; 2007, according to the April Business Conditions Survey.
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The Business Conditions Survey is a quarterly survey that requests manufacturers’ opinions on production impediments, finished product inventory levels, new and unfilled order levels and production and employment prospects in the coming three months. The voluntary survey was conducted in the first two weeks of April and attracted over  ; 3,000  ; responses from manufacturers.
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Manufacturers positive about production prospects
In April, 22% of manufacturers stated they would …
Industrial production decreased 0.2 percent in March after an increase of 0.8 percent in February. Output in the manufacturing sector moved up 0.7 percent in March; the increase was led by advances in the production of durable goods.
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The output of utilities dropped 7.0 percent, largely reversing its February jump of 7.6 percent, as temperatures swung from below seasonal norms in February to above seasonal norms in March.
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Mining output edged up 0.1 percent in March. At 112.5 percent of its 2002 average, overall industrial production for March was 2.3 percent above its year-earlier level.
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The rate of capacity utilization for total industry fell 0.2 percentage point, to 81.4 percent, a level 0.4 percentage point above its 1972-2006 …
The Timken Co., Canton, OH, reported sales of $1.28 billion in the first quarter 2007, an increase of 2% over the same period a year ago. Income from continuing operations was $41.6 million.
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Sales in Asia were up 17%.
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The Industrial Group had first-quarter sales of $544.4 million, up 8% from $503.9 million for the same period last year. Favorable pricing and higher volume drove the increase, with sales strength coming from multiple market sectors, especially aerospace and heavy industry.
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The Automotive Group’s first-quarter sales of $388 million were down 8% from $421 million for the same period last year. The decrease was driven by the sale of its steering business at the end of 2006 and lower demand from North American light vehicle and …
Smith International, Inc., supplier to the oil and gas industry, reported first-quarter sales were $2.11 billion, compared with sales of $1.68 billion in the same period a year ago. Profit was $160.2 million, up from $107 million a year ago.
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Offshore business volumes accounted for 90% of the Oilfield segment revenue increase over the December quarter, impacted by demand for drilling and completion fluids, environmental solutions and borehole enlargement technologies.
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On a geographic basis, increased activity in the U.S. deepwater market and rising offshore investment in the Eastern Hemisphere region, including the North Sea, Former Soviet Union and Middle East/Asia, accounted for the majority of the sequential improvement.
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Business …
Builders FirstSource, Inc., Dallas, TX, a supplier and manufacturer of structural and related building products for residential new construction, reported sales of $411.1 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2007, down 30.2% from the same period a year ago. Profit was $0.2 million.
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We continued to face very challenging market conditions during the first quarter,’ said Floyd Sherman, Builders FirstSource CEO .”The combined impact of decreased housing starts and lower market prices for lumber products reduced our sales.”
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Builders FirstSource reported a decline of 36.2% in housing activity in its markets. Also, commodity lumber and lumber sheet goods prices had a 5.7% negative effect on sales.
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The company said it …
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 six years of online archives and market data. Call 1-888-742-5060 or email info@mdm.com to …
This table  ; highlights key financial metrics and trading multiples for 30 publicly traded distributors in the industrial and building products industries. Click here to see the data. Also find graphic illustrating median EBIDTA multiples for the same distribution companies.
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These materials,  ; prepared by Robert W. Baird & Co. for MDM,  ; are for informational purposes …
Modern Distribution Management’s March Inflation Index, which measures a cross-section of industrial supplies, was up 0.07% from the previous month, and up 2.88% from March 2006.
Summary of  ; MDM Inflation Index for the past 12 months:
March 2007 Index 269.6
February 2007 Index 269.4
January 2007 Index 268.7
December 2006 Index  ; 267.1
November 2006 Index 266.5
October 2006 Index 265.9
September 2006 Index 265.6
August 2006 Index 265.2
July 2006 Index 264.0
June 2006 Index 263.0
May 2006 Index 262.1
April 2006 Index 262.1
March 2006 Index 262.1
Please click below to view a print-ready pdf of the  ; MDM Inflation Index for March 2007, listing the ten individual product categories …
Paris-based electrical distributor Rexel Inc. reported sales of 2.576 million euro (US$3.509 billion) in the first quarter 2007, up 31 percent from the same period last year. Growth was 5.9 percent on a comparable basis. Rexel saw double-digit organic growth in Europe and Asia-Pacific, with flat sales in North America. Acquisitions added 545 million euro (US$742 million) in sales in 2006. More …
Grainger, Chicago, IL, reported sales of $1.5 billion in the first quarter, up 9 percent from the first quarter 2006. Profit increased 18 percent to $102 million. Daily sales increased 8 percent in January, 10 percent in February and 9 percent in March. Sales in the branch-based segment in the U.S., Mexico and …
Channel dynamics, as our lead article explores, have arguably never been more complex or more fluid. One of the core concepts as this article came together was the need to have a clear line of visibility from manufacturer to end-user customer. With so many variables at play, visibility seems to be one of the few constants.
Channel conflict appears when clarity disappears, whether in communication, policies, discount structures or behaviors. There is no right answer, yet there are great examples of consistent and clear approaches that are working.
Ten years ago, the hot issue was how integrated supply was radically altering traditional channel relationships. Power was shifting to the customer. The redundancies and inefficiencies of traditional channels were ripe for …
