October 17, 2006

Praxair Distribution Inc., a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc., Danbury, CT, has acquired Hobart Industrial Gases of Fort Wayne, IN. Since 1956, Hobart Industrial Gases has supplied a wide array of packaged industrial, medical and specialty gases, welding equipment, supplies and services to Indiana and Ohio. “This acquisition provides a great opportunity to integrate the strengths and […]

quarter of 2006 after surging at a 29.6-percent SAAR in the second quarter of 2006. Crude goodsThe Producer Price Index for Crude Materials for Further Processing fell 3.4% in September following a 2.2-percent increase in August. Prices for crude energy materials turned down after rising in the previous month. Conversely, the basic industrial materials index

percentage point above its 1972-2005 average. By stage of process, the operating rate for industries at the crude stage climbed 0.2 percentage point, to 89.0%. In contrast, the operating rate for industries at the primary and semifinished stages fell 1 percentage point, to 82.6%, just 0.5 percentage point above the long-run average for this group.

The Fastenal Company, Winona, MN, had sales of $470 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2006, an increase of 16.9% over the same period in 2005. Profit increased 17.8% to $54.1 million. Sales for the first nine months totaled $1.36 billion, an increase of 19.4% over the same period in 2005. Profit increased 20.2%