January 29, 2009 - Modern Distribution Management

Log In

January 29, 2009

New Orders for Durable Goods Fall 2.6% in December

New orders for manufactured durable goods in December decreased $4.7 billion or 2.6% to $176.8 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced. This was the fifth consecutive monthly decrease and followed a 3.7% November decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 3.6%. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 4.9%.
 
Shipments
Shipments of manufactured durable goods in December, down five consecutive months, decreased $1.4 billion or 0.7% to $191.3 billion. This followed a 4.2% November decrease.
 
Unfilled Orders
Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in December, down three consecutive months, decreased $10.3 billion or 1.3% to $803.2 billion. This followed a 0.9% November decrease. ...

New Orders for Durable Goods Fall 2.6% in December Read More »

Advance Estimates: GDP Falls 3.8% in 4Q

Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the U.S. - decreased at an annual rate of 3.8% in the fourth quarter of 2008, (that is, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter), according to advance estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP decreased 0.5%.
 
The Bureau emphasized that the fourth-quarter advance estimates are based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency. The fourth-quarter "preliminary" estimates, based on more comprehensive data, will be released on Feb. 27, 2009.
 
The decrease in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected negative contributions from exports, ...

Advance Estimates: GDP Falls 3.8% in 4Q Read More »

Some Not-So-Bad News

With the exception of a few strategic acquirers, it's pretty rare these days that we hear about a distributor actually expanding in the U.S. But one metals distributor is doing just that.
 
Chicago-based metals distributor and processor Ryerson Inc. announced recently it will open two new service centers in Utah and Texas by the end of the first quarter 2009. What's more, the Platinum Equity-owned distributor doubled its stake in Chinese venture VSC-Ryerson China Ltd from 40% to 80%. VSC-Ryerson had $160 million in 2008 sales.
 
It's one piece of not-so-bad news after a slew of falling fourth-quarter and year-end results.
 
At the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors annual meeting this week in Washington, D.C., I heard ...

Some Not-So-Bad News Read More »

Register for full access

By providing your email, you agree to receive announcements from us and our partners for our newsletter, events, surveys, and partner resources per MDM Terms & Conditions. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Learn More about Custom Reports

Request a Market Prospector Demo

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Get the MDM Update Newsletter

Wholesale distribution news and trends delivered right to your inbox.

Sign-up for our free newsletter and get:

  • Up-to-date news in a quick-to-read format
  • Free access to webcasts, podcasts and live events
  • Exclusive whitepapers, research and reports
  • And more!