Growth increased for distributors and manufacturers in January, according to the January Economic Indicator Report from the Industrial Supply Association. The ISA Distributor Index increased from 60.2 in December to 63.1 in January, while the Manufacturer Index increased from 52.3 to 58.8.

“Following a slowdown in business in December, ISA members saw marked improvement to start 2016,” said Bryon Shafer, general manager of ASG Industrial and chair of ISA’s strategic information committee. “As one member commented, after two soft quarters, January got off to a decent start in terms of sales, and a great start in terms of incoming orders.”

For each index, a reading above 50 percent indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 percent indicates contraction. The Indexes have been above 50 percent since January 2012.