Both U.S. and Canadian manufacturers experienced a drop in sales in April 2009 according to sales data released by the Power Transmission Distributors Association. Confidence in the market (as measured on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being most optimistic) remained the same this month, holding a current negative position between 4.6 and 4.9.

U.S. manufacturers’ sales were down 11.0% in April 2009 when compared to March 2009. Sales in April 2009 fell 29.8% compared to the same period last year. Orders in April 2009 increased by 2.2% over March 2009 sales, the first positive performance since October 2008.

Canadian manufacturers’ sales were down 3.0% compared to March 2009. Sales were down 32.6% when compared to the same period last year.

Sales between March 2009 and April 2009 in …