Robert W. Baird & Co., in partnership with Modern Distribution Management, conducted a survey of more than 500 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 and distributor and manufacturer expectations for the second quarter and full year of 2012.
Expectations for revenue growth in 2012 remain solid among respondents to the first-quarter 2012 MDM/Baird survey, though at a lower rate than seen in other recent surveys. On average, survey respondents expect revenue growth of 7 percent in the second quarter of 2012 and 5.6 percent for the full year.
These forecasts come on the heels of a strong first quarter, with overall average revenue growth of …
