Midwest Manufacturing Index Grows in November
The Federal Reserve Board's industrial production index for manufacturing (IPMFG) was up by 1.1%.
2009
Esmark Industrial Group Acquires Excalibur Machine Co.
Esmark bought the distressed firm for $3.5 million.
Bradco Supply Taps Former Wolseley Executive as Next CEO
Larry Stoddard, formerly Wolseley's COO, will take the top spot at the building products distributor.
Brady Corp. Buys Brazilian Manufacturer
Acquisition of Stickolor Industria e Comercio de Auto Adesivos Ltda. will allow Brady to expand into additional markets in Brazil.
Johnstone Supply Announces New CEO
Wallace will assume responsibilities in January 2010.
Crane Co. Agrees to Buy Merrimac Industries
Merrimac has two locations in New Jersey and Costa Rica.
Getting By with a Little Help from Our Friends
It's been a tough year all around, but it's been a bit easier for a group of East Coast distributors who meet four times a year to advise and help one another. We call ourselves the "1% Club" because if we don't do nearly everything right, that's all we have to celebrate at the end of the year!
We sell shampoo, pie filling, dental floss, …
New Orders Up 0.2% in November
Second monthly increase for durable goods in the past three months.
Top 5 Shifts in Distribution in 2009
Key shifts took place in the distribution channel over the past year, one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression.
MDM News Digest 3924
News briefs from Dec. 11 - 25, 2009
Download This Issue: MDM December 25, 2009
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The Year in Distribution: 2009
This article is an overview of trends, events and shifts in the wholesale distribution sector in the past year.
On Dec. 25, 2008, I wrote that we were transitioning into an era with "no bubbles," quoting New York Times columnist Paul Krugman.
While the housing bubble has popped, we may not yet be bubble-free. A smaller bubble may be emerging, as government spending keeps the economy propped up, and economic stimulus package funds are doled out to state and local governments for infrastructure and other large projects.
Looking forward, government spending will play a large role in the economy thanks to the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, which undoubtedly will be the first thing to come to mind when "2009" is uttered …
Commentary: The New Era in Wholesale Distribution
Oliver H. Van Horn Company, New Orleans, LA, saw its headquarters wiped out with Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The 100-year-old fourth-generation family company's traditional market literally disappeared that day. The company reshaped itself to deal with the reality of its circumstances, and found new ways to add value in the wake of disaster. They have been rebuilding since, only to encounter a financial hurricane a few short years later. This publication has worked consistently to avoid hyperbole since its founding 1967. But this has been a hyperbolic year.
Semiannual Forecast: Optimism in 2010
Expectations are for the positive conditions experienced in the second half of 2009 to continue in manufacturing, while the non-manufacturing sector expects marginal growth, say the nation's purchasing and supply management executives in the Institute for Supply Management's December 2009 Semiannual Economic Forecast. The overall forecast projects …
3M Outlook: 2010 Will Be a Year for Taking Market Share
After a year of uncertainty, 3M is looking forward to a year of recovery, though the pace of recovery will be "patchy and slow," according to President and CEO George W. Buckley. Buckley addressed analysts and investors at the 3M 2010 Outlook meeting earlier this month.
"2010 will be a year of separation: The strong will get stronger, and the weak won't," Buckley said. "This will be a time when real market share transfers could begin."
Sales for the St. Paul, MN-based diversified manufacturer have …
Economic Update: Economy Starts to Pick Up Steam
Optimism in the economy continues to pick up steam, though that optimism is tempered for many by the fact that we still have a long way to go. Each measurement of the economy's strength is impacted by several others.
During diversified manufacturer 3M's 2010 Outlook meeting earlier this month, CEO George Buckley called it a "chicken-and-egg" scenario. Determining which measure signifies recovery can be difficult. Is it when unemployment …
Monthly Wholesale Trade: Sales and Inventories for October 2009
October 2009 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers' sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $326.2 billion, up 1.2 percent from the revised September level, but down 9.6 percent from October 2008. October sales of durable goods were up 0.8 percent from last month, but were down 11.1 percent from a year ago. Sales of computer and computer …
MDM Industrial Inflation Index: September 2009
The September Inflation Index, which measures a cross-section of industrial supplies, was up 0.14% from the previous month, and up 1.35% from September 2008.
Forecast: Recovery in Latin America will be ‘Strong but Uneven’
Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI Latin America Manufacturing Outlook anticipates manufacturing output to rebound in 2010.
Top M&A Stories in 2009
MDM's list of the biggest players in the merger & acquisition landscape for 2009, including W. W. Grainger and Motion Industries.
