MDM News Digest 3913

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc., Melville, NY, a distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations supplies to industrial customers throughout the U.S., reported sales of $350.5 million for the third quarter ended May 30, 2009, a decrease of 23.3% from the prior year. Profit declined 45.9% to $27.8 million. For the first nine months of fiscal 2009, sales were $1.135 billion, down 14.7% from the first nine months of fiscal 2008. Profit fell 32% to $99.1 million. More

London, UK-based Bunzl plc, an international distribution and outsourcing group, reported sales for the six months ending June 30, 2009, will be up 17%, with core sales slightly down. Sales in the UK and Ireland are lower than level seen a year ago. In Continental Europe, sales have also softened due to general weakness in the economy. North American sales increased with new business wins and increased business with current customers. More

Bison Building Materials Ltd., Houston, TX, has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. At its peak, the building materials supplier had about 1,350 employees with locations in six states; as of June 1, the company employed 556 people and had closed all operations outside of Texas. Sales have declined nearly 40% since 2006, to $179.1 million for fiscal year 2009 ended April 30. More

Hagemeyer North America has launched its 2009-2010 Green Book:Sustainable Solutions. The catalog contains 220 pages with 1,500 products and solutions from more than 60 Hagemeyer supplier partners. This is the second year Hagemeyer has offered a catalog dedicated to sustainable products. More

Genuine Parts Co., Atlanta, GA, has named a Paul D. Donahue president of its U.S. Automotive Parts Group. Donahue was previously responsible for several of the company's automotive business units. As president of the U.S. Automotive Parts Group, Donahue will oversee 58 distribution centers and 1,100 stores. More

Respondents to the the third annual RSM McGladrey Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution National Survey say they expect their companies to rebound from the current recession beginning in late 2009 (46%) and early 2010 (44%). In general, companies predict an earlier rebound for their own businesses than for their industry or the U.S. economy. Survey results indicate a significant year-over-year decline in the reported health of companies, however. Forty percent of respondents reported their business as "declining" this year, as compares to 12% in 2008. Only 9% reported their companies as "thriving and growing." More

France-based Schneider Electric has acquired Microsol Tecnologia, a Brazilian manufacturer of UPSs, voltage regulators and accessories for power protection. In 2008, Microsol generated net sales of BRL 65 million (US$32.4 million) and employed 500 people.More

Rotor Clip Company Inc., Somerset, NJ, a manufacturer of retaining rings, hose clamps, spiral rings and wave springs, has acquired Phillipsburg, NJ-based Truarc LLC, also known as Waldes Truarc, a manufacturer of retaining rings. More

The broad improvement of the Leading Economic Index and the stabilization of the Coincident Economic Index suggest that the recession that began in the U.S. in December 2007 will likely ease in the near term, according to the latest report from The Conference Board. The LEI increased sharply for the second consecutive month in May, increasing 1.2%. The LEI currently stands at 100.2 (2004=100). The CEI continued to decrease in May, falling 0.2%. amid further declines in industrial production and employment. However, two of the four indicators showed improvement. The lagging economic index for the U.S. fell by the same amount as the coincident economic index (-0.2%), and the coincident-to-lagging ratio remained unchanged, as a result. More

New orders for manufactured durable goods in May increased $2.8 billion or 1.8% to $163.9 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. This was the third increase in the last four months and followed a 1.8% April increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 1.1%. Excluding defense, new orders also increased 1.4%. More

Construction spending in May 2009 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $964.0 billion, 0.9% below the revised April estimate of $972.5 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. The May figure is 11.6% below the May 2008 estimate of $1,090.7 billion. During the firstfive months of this year, construction spending amounted to $368.8 billion, 11.7% below the $417.5 billion for the same period in 2008. More

The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index (CFMMI) declined 3.1% in May, to a seasonally adjusted level of 78.2 (2002 = 100). Revised data show the index was down 1.4% in April, to 80.7. The Federal Reserve Board's industrial production index for manufacturing (IPMFG) was down 1.0% in May. Regional output in May declined 24.4% from a year earlier - lower than the 15.2% decrease in national output. More

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index was -2.30 in May, little changed from -2.27 in April. All four broad categories of indicators made negative contributions to the index in May. The three-month moving average, CFNAI-MA3, was -2.67 in May, up slightly from -2.73 in the previous month. The amount of economic slack reflected in the CFNAI-MA3 indicates low inflationary pressure from economic activity over the coming year. More

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector failed to grow in June for the 17th consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the second consecutive month, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. The PMI in June was 44.8%, an improvement of 2 percentage points over May. A PMI above 50 indicates growth in the manufacturing sector. More

Zep Inc., Atlanta, GA, a producer, marketer, and service provider of cleaning and maintenance solutions, reported sales of $123 million for the third quarter ended May 31, 2009, down 15.3% from the prior year. Profit improved to $5.4 million from $168,000 for third quarter of fiscal year 2008; third quarter 2008's results included restructuring and special charges of $5.9 million. For this first nine months, sales were $366.7 million, down 13.1%. Profit declined 65.1% to $2.9 million. More

Chip Hornsby has resigned as group chief executive of UK-based Wolseley plc, effective immediately. Ian Meakins will succeed Hornsby effective July 13, 2009.Meakins has served as CEO of Travelex Holdings Ltd, an international foreign exchange and payments business, and Alliance UniChem plc. More

Despite the Chinese government's efforts to stimulate consumption and constrain investment spending, China's savings-investment gap has widened further and its trade surplus has continued expanding, according to a recent Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI report. As a result, domestic consumption in China is at historically low levels and imports into China remain too weak to help stimulate the global economy, or to help the U.S. correct its unsustainable trade deficit.