News
Breaking news in Wholesale Distribution
Lone Star Fasteners, Houston, TX, has acquired LWD Precision Engineering Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of precision engineered components for the global oil and gas industry, for $6 million. LWD, based in Leeds, UK, manufactures precision machined components for valves, actuators and other related critical applications.
  ;
“The purchase of LWD is our latest step in the strategic expansion of Lone Star’s product and geographic market coverage, said Lone Star CEO Bruce Ross.
  ;
The acquisition of LWD follows Lone Star’s June 2006 acquisition of Leeds-based Grange Gaskets, a provider of standard and specialty gaskets, and related machined parts.  ; Tony Sitek, managing director of Lone Star’s Grange subsidiary, will assume overall management …
Huttig Building Products, St. Louis, MO, distributor of millwork, building materials and wood products, has closed its distribution facility in Hauppauge, NY, as part of the company’s effort to downsize in response to the recent downturn in the housing market.
  ;
About 30 jobs will be eliminated.
  ;
While we continue to believe the Long Island, NY, market has long-term potential for more localized distribution of millwork and specialty building products, unfortunately now is not the time for making the additional investments that would be required in today’s market environment, said President and CEO Jon Vrabely.
  ;
Huttig has 41 distribution centers serving 46 states. It serves mostly building materials dealers, …
HD Supply reported sales of $12.07 billion in fiscal 2006, an increase of 161.6% over 2005. Most of that growth was driven by the almost $4 billion in acquisitions made in the past year.
  ;
HD Supply bought diversified distributor Hughes Supply last year at a premium of $3.4 billion. Hughes had sales of $5.4 billion in 2005.
  ;
In 2006, the retail division had sales of $79 billion, up 2.6%.
  ;
Overall, sales at The Home Depot were $90.8 billion, 11.4% over last year, with profit at $5.8 billion. Comparable store sales for the year were down 2.8%.
  ;
In the fourth quarter 2006, sales for HD Supply grew by 64.4% to $2.9 billion, reflecting sales from acquisitions.
  ;
Home …
Taken from Statistics Canada
Canadian manufacturers ended  ; 2006  ; on a positive note as factory shipments increased for the second month in a row in December, thanks to strength in the transportation equipment sector.
The year-end rally was not enough to offset several months of weak performances earlier in the year. As a result, total shipments for  ; 2006  ; as a whole edged down  ; 0.6% to  ; $587.4  ; billion from the peak level in  ; 2005.
December’s increase was widespread, with  ; 13  ; sectors representing  ; 74% of total output improving. On a monthly basis, factories shipped goods worth an estimated  ; $49.7  ; billion in …
US Electrical Services, LLC, Exton, PA, has agreed to buy Rahway Electric Supply Co., Inc. and its subsidiary Asbury Park Electric Supply. Rahway/Asbury has been supplying electrical contractors in Northern and Central New Jersey for almost 27 years.  ;
  ;
“Rahway/Asbury is a perfect fit for USESI Mid-Atlantic, said Greg Griswold, president, USESI Mid-Atlantic Region.”The markets they serve enhance the coverage of our business, and their focus on high levels of customer service will help us continue to meet the needs of our customers wherever they are.”
  ;
US Electrical Services, LLC, is a distributor of electrical products and related services.
Related …
The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods declined 0.6 percent in January, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. This decrease followed a 0.9-percent advance in December and a 1.8-percent jump in November. At the earlier stages of processing, prices for intermediate goods moved down 0.7 percent compared with a 0.5-percent increase in the prior month. The crude goods index decreased 6.3 percent after rising 2.8 percent in December.
  ;
Among finished goods, prices for energy goods fell 4.6 percent in January following a 2.2-percent rise in the prior month. The rate of increase in the finished consumer foods index slowed to 1.1 percent in January from 1.5 percent in December. By contrast, prices for finished …
Privately-owned housing starts fell 14.3% in January, compared with the revised December estimate. Starts were down 37.8% below the January 2006 rate. Single-family in January were 11.2% below the December figure. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 276,000.
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in January were down 2.8% from the revised December rate, and 28.6% below the January 2006 estimate. Single-family authorizations were 4% below the December figure. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 370,000 in January.
  ;
Privately-owned housing completions in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,880,000, roughly even with the revised …
December U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $321.35 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 6.9% from November, and down 0.5% from the total of $322.81 million reported for  ; December 2005. With a year-end total of $3,889.75 million, 2006 was up 26.8% compared with 2005.
These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program.
2006 was an exceptional year, with the highest U.S. consumption since 2000, says John B. Byrd III, AMT President. Growth should continue in 2007, at a more modest pace, as …
Rexnord LLC, Milwaukee, WI, power transmission and water management products supplier, reported sales of $283.1 million for the third quarter ended Dec. 30, 2006, up 7% from the prior-year period.   ; Income from operations grew 8.3% over the prior year to $18.2 million.
  ;
Sales were impacted by the accident Dec. 6 at its Canal Street facility and the business interruption by about $15 to $20 million in sales.
  ;
Rexnord reported overall positive trends in its business, with solid end markets. Order growth in the third quarter was 4.6%, slightly lower than the first six months of the fiscal year. The backlog sits at $386.6 million, 26% higher than the beginning of the fiscal year.
  ;
Since the end of the quarter, …
Barnes Group Inc. announced 2006 sales of $1.3 billion, up 14% from $1.1 billion in 2005. Profit was $73.8 million, up 54% from the year before.
  ;
Sales for the fourth quarter were $328.8 million, up 19% from the prior-year period. Income was $18.5 million, up 83%.
  ;
All three of Barnes’ business units recorded double-digit sales growth in the fourth quarter.
Full year 2006 sales at Barnes Distribution were $526.9 million, up 16% from $453.8 million in 2005.
Fourth quarter 2006 sales at Barnes Distribution were $141.6 million, up 26% from the same period last year. Driving the fourth quarter 2006 sales growth were broad-based increases in Barnes Distribution North America, including double-digit increases in …
