Robert W. Baird & Co., in partnership with Modern Distribution Management, conducted a survey of more than 600 distributors and manufacturers to gauge business trends and the outlook for the distribution industry in diverse sectors. Here is a summary of first-quarter results.

On average, respondents to the latest quarterly MDM/Baird survey said first-quarter revenues were up 8.7 percent year-over-year. In the fourth-quarter survey, respondents indicated sales were up 10.3 percent.

Respondents expect the positive trend to…