MDM News Digest 3706

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc., Peabody, MA, has agreed to acquire North Coast Commercial Roofing Systems, Inc., a Twinsburg, OH-based distributor of commercial roofing systems and related accessories, with 16 locations in eight U.S. states. North Coast gives Beacon with its first locations in three states: New York, Ohio and West Virginia. North Coast had sales of about $253 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006. Beacon had sales of $1.5 billion in 2006.More ...
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January U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $297.48 million, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors'Association and The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was down 9.8 percent from December, but up 30.9 percent from the total of $227.23 million reported for January 2006.More ...
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January 2007 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers'sales branches and offices, were $333.4 billion, down 0.9 percent from the revised December level but up 6.2 percent from January 2006. January sales of durable goods were virtually unchanged from last month, but were up 5.7 percent from a year ago. Sales of metals and minerals, except petroleum, were up 4.4 percent from last month. January sales of nondurable goods were down 1.8 percent from last month, but were up 6.7 percent from last year. The January inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.19. The January 2006 ratio was 1.16.More ...
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The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 1.3 percent in February, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. Over the same period, prices for finished goods other than foods and energy increased 1.8 percent, and the index for finished energy goods was unchanged. For the 12 months ended February 2007, prices for intermediate goods moved up 2.5 percent, and the crude goods index rose 9.3 percent.More ...
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UK-based Wolseley plc reported North American sales were up slightly in the first half of 2006, thanks to growth in Ferguson, including 9 percent organic growth. This offset slow sales at Stock Building Supply due to the U.S. residential market. Profit was down 15 percent in North America. Revenue growth of 44.5 percent in Europe included 26 percent from the acquisition of DT Group and double-digit organic growth. Profit was up 33 percent. Thirty acquisitions were made in the first half of 2006, expected to add $1.14 billion in revenues in a full year.
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Stock Building Supply, Raleigh, NC, has acquired Albuquerque Door from Orepac Building Products. Albuquerque Door assembles pre-hung exterior and interior doors, distributes vinyl windows, and manufactures specialty architectural millwork items for national and custom builders in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe markets. The company operates from one location in Albuquerque. More ...
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VWR International, Inc., West Chester, PA, a distributor of lab supplies with sales of more than $3 billion, announced that Goldman Sachs & Co. and Banc of America Securities LLC have been retained to explore strategic options for VWR. VWR is owned by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, which bought the company from Merck KGaA of Germany for $1.65 billion in April 2004.More ...
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Kennametal Inc., Latrobe, PA, has agreed to buy Purity

Metal Holdings Inc. and its subsidiary International Specialty Alloys Inc.  ; ISA will become part of Kennametal's Advanced Materials Solutions Group. ISA manufactures high-purity specialty metal products for the aerospace, defense and super alloy industries. This acquisition further supports Kennametal's growth and investment strategies, which include expanding AMSG to eventually represent 50 percent of its business.More ...
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Graybar, St. Louis, MO, reported sales of $5.009 billion in 2006, up 16.6 percent from last year. Profit was $57 million, more than double the year before. Growth in the electrical market increased 16.6 percent. Electrical sales were strong in the construction sector. Sales in the comm/data market rose 17 percent year-over-year. More ...
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Factory shipments in Canada fell for the first time in three months in January as petroleum refiners and manufacturers of transportation equipment, principally automobiles, extended maintenance down-time into the New Year. Manufacturers shipped goods worth an estimated  ; $48.6  ; billion in January, down  ; 2.1 percent from the previous month and  ; 2.1 percent less than in January last year. Two sectors (transportation equipment and petroleum and coal industries) combined to account for the vast majority (96%) of January's decline.
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Canadian industries reduced their use of production capacityfor the fourth consecutive quarter between October and December in  ; 2006  ; to the lowest level in more than three years. At year-end, industries operated at  ; 82.5 percent of their capacity, down from  ; 83.4 percent in the third quarter. The increased demand both in Canada and abroad was largely met by inventory reductions, industrial production having decreased in the fourth quarter.
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Following a strong end to 2006, Canadian wholesalers began the year on a subdued note, as weaker deliveries of automotive products and personal and household goods pushed overall sales lower. Wholesale sales declined 0.5 percent in January to $42.7 billion, reversing some of the gain made in December.Outside of automotive and household goods, the remaining five wholesale sectors, representing 67 percent of overall sales, all registered increases in January, led by the building materials and machinery and electronic equipment sectors.More ...
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Private equity firm The Carlyle Group has agreed to acquire The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's Engineered Products Division for $1.475 billion in cash. Goodyear Engineered Products manufactures hoses, conveyor belts and power transmission belts, as well as tank tracks for military and off-road vehicles. With approximately $1.5 billion in sales, the company serves more than 4,500 customers around the world in a variety of end markets.More ...
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Premier Farnell plc has agreed to sell BuckHickman InOne, a distributor of industrial tools and supplies, to The BSS Group plc for about & pound; 27 million. BuckHickman had sales of & pound; 99.8 million and operating losses before interest and tax of & pound; 0.8 million for the financial year ended Jan. 28, 2007. Premier Farnell is a global distributor of electronic components and industrial products to the design, maintenance and engineering sectors. It operates in 21 countries. It had sales of & pound; 814 million in the year ended Jan 29, 2007.More ...
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Safety Products Holdings Inc. and Norcross Safety Products, Oak Brook, IL , reported sales of $558.1

million in 2006, up from $481 million in 2005, a 16 percent increase. The sales jump was attributed to an increase in sales in general safety and preparedness and electrical safety segments.More ...
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Illinois Tool Works Inc., Glenview, IL, reported revenues increased 15 percent in the three months ended Feb. 28, 2007. About 2 percent was from base revenues, 11 percent from acquisitions, and 2 percent as a result of translation and other items. Organic growth benefited from strong demand from international end markets; however, North American end markets continued to show signs of moderating growth or declines. ITW is a $14.1 billion diversified manufacturer of highly engineered components and industrial systems and consumables. The company is in 49 countries.More ...
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Fastener distributor Bossard's U.S. sales dampened the group's overall global revenues in 2006. Sales in the U.S. dropped 9.5 percent from 2005. Bossard attributed the decline to falling demand from larger customers -which comprise 50 percent of the company's overall sales. Overall, the Bossard Group sales were up 8.7 percent to CHF 560 million (Swiss francs), and 7.6 percent in local currency. Translated, sales were roughly US$458 million for the year. Asia saw the largest growth rate, at 42 percent. All European countries reported double-digit growth rates.More ...
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Iron Age Corp., safety shoe company, Westboro, MA , is shutting down after filing for bankruptcy, according to news reports. The company sold safety, work and uniform shoes to industrial, service and government sectors. Brand names included Iron Age, Knapp and Grabber. Iron Age filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy Jan. 22, 2007.More ...
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Albuquerque-based SUMMIT Electric Supply has opened a new sales office in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. "Opening shop in Dubai signifies our commitment to global electrical professionals," says SUMMIT president and CEO Vic Jury. "SUMMIT has been servicing international customers for many years through our export division in Houston." SUMMIT's Dubai office opened in February and is a partnership with the drilling supplies and services company Driltools. More ...
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U.S. industrial production increased 1.0 percent in February after a decrease of 0.3 percent in January and a rise of 0.8 percent in December. Output in the manufacturing sector gained 0.4 percent in February and was led by increases in motor vehicles and in high-technology goods. The output of utilities jumped 6.7 percent in February, as colder-than-average temperatures boosted production at both electric and natural gas utilities. The output of mines edged up 0.1 percent. At 113.1 percent of its 2002 average, overall industrial production for the month was 3.4 percent above its year-earlier level. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry in February rose 0.6 percentage point, to 82.0 percent, a level 1.0 percentage point above its 1972-2006 average.More ...
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Privately-owned housing starts in the U.S.in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,525,000. This is 9.0 percent (& plusmn; 10.2%) above the revised January estimate of 1,399,000, but is 28.5 percent (& plusmn; 6.2%) below the February 2006 rate of 2,132,000. Single-family housing starts in February were at a rate of 1,220,000; this is 10.3 percent (& plusmn; 8.8%) above January. The Northeast and Midwest saw the greatest declines from January, with a 29.7 percent fall and 14.4 percent decrease respectively. The South and West both saw double-digit gains in housing starts. More ...


After a solid period of sustainable growth, U.S manufacturing production declined in fourth quarter 2006 and will likely remain flat, or decline further, in first quarter 2007, according to the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI Quarterly Industrial Outlook, a report that analyzes 27 major industries. Overall, manufacturing will still grow in 2007, but at a reduced 2.5% rate compared to 4.7% in 2006. The
Alliance
forecasts 3.1% growth in manufacturing in 2008.

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