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Through a discussion with the CIO of each company, we get into the weeds of the what, why and how behind the electrical and fastener distributors’ AI journey and the decisions that led to success with the technology.
Sales for USG’s building products distribution segment, L&W Supply Corp., rose 6 percent.
Acquisition to expand WESCOs footprint in Canada and South America.
Sales increased in North America and Latin America for the bearings manufacturer.
Housing starts were up 15 percent from August.
The new business platform will represent 13% of manufacturer’s sales.
Organic sales for the diversified manufacturer were flat year over year.
Train your sales force to hear what your customers aren’t necessarily saying out loud.
Industrial sales for Textron grew 4.3 percent in the quarter.
Acquisition supports Parker’s position in commercial marine and large yacht markets.
Rental revenues grew 74 percent.
Sales in America increased 29.4 percent for the fasteners distributor.
Acquisition is fourth add-on to platform company Specialized Medical Services, Inc.
Focuses will include all-channel commerce, inventory visibility and workforce optimization.
Grainger also reports a settlement with the government over pricing disclosure issues.
Gulf of Mexico production that idled in anticipation of Hurricane Isaac has resumed.
Profit fell 4.8 percent to $39.8 million.
Manufacturing and trade sales were $1.2 trillion, up 0.5 percent from July 2012.
Rebranding includes the renaming, a new logo and a new website.
The software company is also releasing preliminary fiscal 2012 results.
Jim Pancero: Give sales managers the training they need to coach your sales team.
June U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $347.70 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 up 5.1% from May, and up 0.4% from the total of $346.47 million reported for June 2006. With a year-to-date total of $1,982.52 million, 2007 was up 7.7% compared with 2006.
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These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program.
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Through the first half of this year, manufacturers have continued to increase purchases of advanced production equipment,” said John B. Byrd III, AMT President. “These strategic investments …
According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, privately-owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,381,000. This is 6.1 percent below the revised June estimate of 1,470,000 and is 20.9 percent below the revised July 2006 rate of 1,746,000.
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Single-family housing starts in July were at a rate of 1,070,000; this is 7.3 percent below the June figure of 1,154,000. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 275,000.
Building Permits
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,373,000. This is 2.8 percent below the revised June rate of 1,413,000 and is 22.6 percent (& plusmn; 1.3%) below the …
Industrial production rose 0.3 percent in July after an increase of 0.6 percent in June. At 113.9 percent of its 2002 average, total industrial production in July was 1.4 percent above its year-earlier level. In July, manufacturing output moved up 0.6 percent and mining output advanced 0.7 percent, but the output of utilities fell 2.1 percent.
Capacity utilization for total industry edged up to 81.9 percent, a rate 0.5 percentage point below the level in July 2006 but 0.9 percentage point above its 1972-2006 average.
Full industrial production/capacity utilization details <a href=/databank/ipcu0707.pdf" ...
Wholesale prices advanced 0.6% in July, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. This increase followed a 0.2% decline in June and a 0.9% rise in May.
At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods rose 0.6% in July compared with a 0.5% gain in June, and the index for crude materials climbed 1.2% subsequent to a 0.3% increase a month earlier.
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Among prices for finished goods, the index for energy goods rose 2.5% in July following a 1.1% decrease in June. Prices for finished consumer foods inched down 0.1% after declining 0.8% in the previous month. By contrast, slightly counteracting the upturn in finished goods prices, the increase in the index for finished …
Wholesaler-distributor revenues were $2.08 trillion in the first half of 2007, up 7.7% from the first half of 2006, unadjusted for seasonal variations. Wholesale revenues for durable goods were up 5.2%, and nondurable goods sales were up 9.6%. Here’s the breakdown in sales changes by sector for the first half of 2007:
Durable………………………………………….. Change  ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;
Automotive………………………………………….. 2.7%  ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;
Furniture…………………………………………… 11.7%  …
June 2007 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $359.5, up 0.6 percent from the revised May level and were up 8.1 percent from the June 2006 level. The May preliminary estimate was revised upward $0.2 billion or 0.1 percent. June sales of durable goods were up 0.7 percent from last month and were up 4.9 percent from a year ago. Compared to last month, sales of computer and computer peripheral equipment and supplies were up 5.4 percent.
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Inventories. Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $398.5 billion …
Modern Distribution Management’s June Inflation Index, which measures a cross-section of industrial supplies, was up 0.18% from the previous month, and up 3.32% from June 2006.
Summary of  ; MDM Inflation Index for the past 12 months:
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June 2007 Index 271.7
May 2007 Index 271.2
April 2007 Index 270.8
March 2007 Index 269.6
February 2007 Index 269.4
January 2007 Index 268.7
December 2006 Index  ; 267.1
November 2006 Index 266.5
October 2006 Index 265.9
September 2006 Index 265.6
August 2006 Index 265.2
July 2006 Index 264.0
June 2006 Index 263.0
Please click below to view a print-ready pdf of the  ; MDM Inflation Index for June 2007, listing the ten individual product categories …
Total construction spending in the first half of 2007 was down 3.5% from the first half of 2006. Click below to download a pdf of private and public construction spending in the first …
A few events do not make a trend. But I’ve noticed a few instances lately where manufacturers have bought up distribution in select markets. Examples: In July, a Swedish manufacturer of seals, Trelleborg, acquired AFM in Portland, OR, a $13-million distributor. HVAC manufacturer Carrier Corp. announced in June it was buying a $150-million distributor serving northern California and Nevada, E.B. Ward and Valair, with 140 employees.
It stirs memories of the difficult balancing act and sometimes rocky road cutting tool manufacturer Kennametal found when it operated an industrial distribution division while also managing independent distribution networks. It finally spun off its distribution units.
The reason given by Carrier for its purchase of distribution: The …
June 2007 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $359.5, up 0.6 percent from the revised May level and were up 8.1 percent from the June 2006 level. The May preliminary estimate was revised upward $0.2 billion or 0.1 percent. June sales of durable goods were up 0.7 percent from last month and were up 4.9 percent from a year ago.
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Compared to last month, sales of computer and computer peripheral equipment and supplies were up 5.4 percent. June sales of nondurable goods were up 0.5 percent from last month and were up 11.1 percent from last year.
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Total inventories of merchant wholesalers were $398.5 billion at the end of …
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in July for the sixth consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 69th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.
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Following a strong second quarter, the manufacturing sector moderated somewhat in the past month. In July, manufacturing expanded at its slowest pace in the last four months, but continuing strength in New Orders and Production indicate that third quarter performance should still be quite good, ISM reported. Upward pricing pressures now in their seventh month continue to be a major concern for supply managers.
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The 10 industries reporting growth in July & mdash; listed in order & mdash; are: Wood Products; Furniture …
New Orders
New orders for manufactured durable goods in June increased $3.0 billion or 1.4% to $217.1 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced. This was the fourth increase in the last five months and followed a 2.3% May decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 0.5%. Excluding defense, new orders increased 1.9%.
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Shipments
Shipments of manufactured durable goods in June, down following three consecutive monthly increases, decreased $2.3 billion or 1.1% to $212.5 billion. This followed a 0.6% May increase.
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Unfilled Orders
Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in June, up 25 of the last 26 months, increased $10.7 billion or 1.5% to $736.5 billion. This was at the highest level since the series was first …
Source: Statistics Canada
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Following April’s sharp decline, Canadian wholesale sales posted a modest rebound in May with most sectors registering gains.
Overall sales rose  ; 0.6% to  ; $43.1  ; billion in May, offsetting some of April’s large drop (-3.0%). Five of the seven wholesale sectors reported higher sales in May, with the largest gains observed in the machinery and electronic equipment (+2.1%) and other products” (+1.9%) sectors. More modest rises were recorded by wholesalers of building materials, personal and household goods and automotive products.
These gains were partially offset by lower sales in the food, beverages and tobacco products sector, which posted its first decline of  ; 2007, and the farm products …
Construction spending in June 2007 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,175.4 billion, 0.3% below the revised May estimate of $1,178.4 billion. The June figure is 2.4% below the June 2006 estimate of $1,204.0 billion.
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During the first six months of the year, construction spending amounted to $550 billion, 3.5% below the $570.1 billion for the same period in 2006.
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Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $890.9 billion, 0.3% below the revised May estimate. Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $544.4 billion in June, 0.7% below the revised May estimate of $548.3 billion. Nonresidential construction was at a rate of $346.6 billion in June, 0.3% above the revised May …
Real gross domestic product -the output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the U.S. -increased at an annual rate of 3.4% in the second quarter of 2007, according to advance estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  ; In the first quarter, real GDP increased 0.6%.
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The Bureau emphasized that the second-quarter advance” estimates are based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source.  ; The second-quarter “preliminary” estimates, based on more comprehensive data, will be released on Aug. 30, …
The last five years have been rough for distributors. Price pressure and intense competition have eliminated razor-thin margins, pushing many distributors to the brink. In addition, distributors have gotten into the habit of "giving away" value-added services in hope of winning deals, driving costs to historic heights. The solution: Revamp pricing based on the value you provide in each segment.
Many distributors believed that a resurgent economy would allow them to raise prices, but customers have been resistant. For most distributors, attempts at price increases are simply not taking hold.
Fortunately, there is a better, more profitable approach. The solution is to develop products and services that target unique segments with very specific offers. For most …
May 2007 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $357.2 billion, up 1.3 percent from the revised April level and were up 8.7 percent from the May 2006 level. The April preliminary estimate was revised upward $0.8 billion or 0.2 percent. May sales of durable goods were down 0.5 percent from last month, but were up 4.2 percent from a year ago. Compared to last month, sales of motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies were down 5.3 percent. May sales of nondurable goods were up 2.9 percent from last month and were up 13.1 percent from last year.
Inventories. Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except …
Despite pressures from commodity price increases the past few years, many distributors are finding it hard to raise prices. The traditional method of price increases has too often been to throw five percent (or another guesstimate) against the wall to see if it sticks.
The authors of the article in this issue argue that there is a better, more profitable approach. The solution is to develop products and services that target unique segments with very specific offers. For most distributors, this involves developing a range of offers from the high end (with all the bells and whistles) to the low end (no frills).
The key, the authors say, is to segment the market and build specific offers based on your unique ability to drive economic value (e.g. revenue growth or cost …
Industrial production rose 0.5 percent in June after a decrease of 0.1 percent in May. At 113.4 percent of its 2002 average in June, total industrial production was 1.4 percent above its year-earlier level.
Manufacturing output moved up 0.6 percent in June; excluding motor vehicles and parts, factory output increased 0.4 percent after having been unchanged in May. In June, the output indexes for mining and utilities registered gains of 0.5 percent and 0.3 percent respectively.
For the second quarter as a whole, total industrial production advanced at an annual rate of 2.9 percent after an increase of 1.1 percent in the first quarter.
Capacity utilization for total industry moved up to 81.7 percent in June; the rate was 0.6 percentage point below its …
After a slight decrease in April, manufacturing shipments in Canada remained virtually unchanged in May (-0.1%) at  ; $49.7  ; billion. Manufacturing shipments had trended slowly downwards throughout most of  ; 2006, before posting a strong first quarter in  ; 2007.
Manufacturers continued to face several challenges during May. The Canadian dollar appreciated significantly against its American counterpart, reaching a 30-year high by the end of May. In addition, the Labour Force Survey reported a  ; 0.6% drop in manufacturing employment during the month, a loss of  ; 12,300  ; jobs.
Despite these challenges, the volume of manufacturing shipments, using constant dollars, rose  ; 0.4% to  ; $45.5  ; billion. After increasing in seven …
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