August 19, 2008 - Modern Distribution Management

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August 19, 2008

Wholesale Prices Up 1.2% in July

Wholesale prices rose 1.2 percent in July, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. This increase followed a 1.8-percent jump in June and a 1.4-percent rise in May.
 
At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods moved up 2.7 percent in July compared with a 2.1-percent gain in the prior month, and the index for crude materials for further processing climbed 4.2 percent subsequent to a 3.7-percent increase in June.
 
Among prices for finished goods, the index for energy goods rose 3.1 percent in July following a 6.0-percent jump in June. Price increases for finished consumer foods also slowed, from 1.5 percent in June to 0.3 percent in July. By contrast, partially ...

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Building Materials Holding Corp. Sales Down 41% in 2Q

San Francisco, CA-based Building Materials Holding Corp., a provider of building materials and construction services to professional residential builders and contractors, reported sales of $385 million for the second quarter of 2008, a decrease of 41% from the same quarter a year ago. The company reported a net loss of $31.9 million compare to a profit of $19.4 million for second quarter 2007.
 
For the six months ended June 30, 2008, sales decreased 38% to $728 million from the same period of 2007. BMHC reported a loss of $65.8 million for the first half of the year, compared to profit of $14.5 million the prior year.
 
Sales were significantly impacted by continued weakness in new home construction, with single-family building permits in the U.S. down 43% for ...

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Home Depot Sales Down 5.4% in 2Q

Atlanta, GA-based The Home Depot, a home improvement retailer, reported sales of $21 billion for the second quarter of 2008, a 5.4% decrease from the same period 2007. Profit was $1.2 billion, down 25% from second quarter 2007.
 
For the first six months, sales were down 4.5% to $40.7 billion as compared to the first half of 2007. Profit was $2.6 billion, a decrease of 40% from the prior year.
 
The company's fiscal 2007 contained 53 weeks of operations, which shifted the company's 2008 fiscal calendar. Because of this shift, and given the seasonal nature of its business, second quarter sales, on a like for like calendar basis, were negatively impacted by $160 million.
 
At the end of the second quarter, Home Depot operated a total of 2,257 retail ...

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Norandex Building Materials Opens Two New Branches

Norandex Building Materials Distribution, Hudson, OH, a distributor of exterior siding, windows, and doors, has opened two new branch locations in Portland, OR, and Austin, TX. This announcement comes just weeks after Norandex acquired two locations in the Baton Rouge, LA, area.
 
We are in the midst of one of the biggest strategic growth initiatives this company has ever undertaken," said Brian Chambers, Norandex president and CEO. "Late last year, we devised a growth plan that includes a focus on extending our customer base by helping them be more successful in the market, enhancing our product offering, and expanding our market coverage."
 
In Portland, Norandex has acquired limited assets from Crown Building Materials. Norandex will service the former customers ...

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Transcat Buys Westcon

Transcat, Inc., Rochester, NY, a distributor of professional grade test, measurement and calibration instruments and accredited provider of calibration and repair services, has acquired privately-held Westcon, Inc., a Portland, OR-based test and measurement instruments distributor and calibration services provider, in a transaction valued at $7.2 million.
 
Charles P. Hadeed, CEO of Transcat, said, This acquisition provides us a West Coast distribution operation that enables us to provide faster service to a broader base of potential customers while adding a Pacific Northwest full-service calibration operation that geographically complements and expands our nationwide network to a total of twelve laboratories. Of added value is Westcon's focus on the wind industry, an ideal, ...

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