August 5, 2008

Transport & Logistics Deals On Pace to Beat 2007 Totals

Leave a Comment / Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Free, News, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

Total transportation and logistics M&A deal value for the first half of 2008 is on pace to surpass 2007 totals, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers'LLP second-quarter edition of Intersections: Global Transportation &Logistics Mergers and Acquisitions Analysis.

The rapid rise in deal value over the first half of the year has been driven primarily by the growing interest in large T&L deals (disclosed value of at least $1 billion) with four of the five largest deals of the year being announced in the second quarter. While deal value is on track to surpass 2007 levels, deal volume is falling short. In the first half of 2008, there were 84 deals announced, compared to the 190 announced for all of 2007.

Interest in large deals was robust during the ...

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Interline Brands Sales Down 0.6% in 2Q

Leave a Comment / Free, Companies, Top Distributor Sectors, Facilities Maintenance (MRO), News, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

Interline Brands, Inc., Jacksonville, FL, a distributor and direct marketer of maintenance, repair and operations products, reported sales for the second quarter of 2008 were $311.4 million, a 0.6% decrease compared to the same period 2007. Profit decreased 6.7% to $11.2 million.

The facilities maintenance end-market, which comprised 70% of sales, grew 2.5% during the second quarter on an average daily sales basis. This growth was offset by continued weakness in the pro contractor and specialty distributor end-markets, which declined 8.7% in the quarter. The specialty distributor end-market, which comprised 11% of sales, declined 4.5% for the quarter.

Sales for the six months ended June 27, 2008 were $600.6 million, a 1.3% decrease over the comparable 2007 ...

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Womack Machine Supply Buys Catey Controls

Leave a Comment / Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Free, Top Distributor Sectors, News, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

Womack Machine Supply Co.-West, Farmers Branch, TX, has acquired Missoula, MT-based Catey Controls, Inc.

This purchase continues our expansion plan into new products and markets,"said Mike Rowlett, CEO of Womack Machine Supply.

Catey Controls provides sales, service, and repair of hydraulic and pneumatic equipment from offices in Missoula and Billings, Montana. With this addition, Womack Companies will now serve customers in the states of Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas.

Womack Machine Supply is an industrial distributor of hydraulic, pneumatic and factory automation ...

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Kaman Sales Up 16.1% in 2Q

Leave a Comment / Free, Top Distributor Sectors, Power Transmission/Motion Control/Fluid Power, News, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

Kaman Corp., Bloomfield, CT, reported sales in the second quarter 2008 were $316.3 million, up 16.1% from the prior-year period. Profit from continuing operations in the second quarter was $6.1 million, down from $9 million.

For the first half of 2008, sales from continuing operations were $602.1 million, up 11.7% from the first half of last year. Profit was down to $15 million, compared with $18.1 million last year.

The company also announced its Fuzing segment was renamed Kaman Precision Products to better represent the diversity of its capabilities."

Industrial Distribution sales increased 16.5% in the second quarter to $203.3 million. Organic sales growth in the quarter was 8.4%, compared with 2.4% in the prior-year period, with the remaining ...

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Construction Spending Falls 0.4% in June

Leave a Comment / Economic Trends, Research & Analytics, Free, Top Distributor Sectors, Building Materials/Construction, News, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

Construction spending during June 2008 was estimated at $1,081.9 billion, 0.4% below the revised May estimate, according to the U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce.

The June figure is 5.9% below the June 2007 estimate of $1,149.4 billion. During the first six months of this year, construction spending amounted to $514.2 billion, 5.4% below the same period in 2007.

Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $780.6 billion, 0.4% below the revised May estimate of $783.9 billion. Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $372.5 billion in June, 1.8% below the revised May estimate. Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $408.1 billion in June, 0.8% above the ...

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Manufacturing Flat in July

Leave a Comment / Economic Trends, Research & Analytics, Free, News, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

Manufacturing was flat in July, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.

In the report, manufacturers indicated no change in overall business activity when comparing July with June. This continues a trend biased toward relatively minor contraction established more than 12 months ago, according to ISM.

While the PMI indicates little to no change has occurred during this period, it would be hard to convince manufacturers who are faced with higher costs and uncertain demand that there is little change taking place, said Norbert Ore, chairman of the ISM's Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.

Daniel Meckstroth, chief economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, said:

The ISM index indicates ...

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Foodservice Distributor Goes Biodiesel

Leave a Comment / Free, Grocery & Foodservice Distribution, Strategy, Top Distributor Sectors, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

Here's a distributor going all the way to green its vehicles. Foodservice distributor Favorite Foods in New Hampshire has announced it will fuel all of its delivery trucks with biodiesel. According to this article, the use of biodiesel in a conventional diesel engine results in a "substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter when compared to emissions from diesel fuel."

The company's president, Chris Barstow, is quoted as saying:

"As a business, we have always done everything we can to positively impact ...

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How United Stationers Is Using Technology to Improve Customer Relations

Leave a Comment / Technology, Free, Companies, Subscriber Only / Jenel Stelton-Holtmeier

Recently, United Stationers Inc. held a conference call to discuss its second quarter earnings. Though the earnings themselves are interesting -sales were up 9.7%, mostly on the strength of the ORS Nasco acquisition, what was more interesting was how the company is utilizing technology to address transportation costs and improve customer relations.

Sure, a lot of companies are utilizing route analysis software to improve delivery routes and reduce fuel usage. United Stationers is doing that as well. However, they've also worked with an outside firm to create a network of local and regional couriers to supplement deliveries already being handled by UPS or FedEx.

In particular, smaller orders or harder-to-deliver orders can be turned over to the courier network for ...

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Passing On the Business, If They’re Interested

Leave a Comment / Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Free, Subscriber Only / Lindsay Young

The Wall Street Journal has a section dedicated to small business. Two articles stuck out to me this week: one on saving energy costs, and one on when and whether young people should join the family business.

The energy-savings article made this point: Energy is not going to get much cheaper than it is now, so now's the time to upgrade. Focus on the big stuff first, such as energy-efficient systems and lighting; or routing software to save on fuel costs. (A florist in the article says she has used online mapping tools such as MapQuest to determine the most efficient routes for her delivery drivers. She also cut down to one delivery a day.) The article is

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