While the sequential growth is a positive sign for a ragged economy, many factors will play a role in determining whether that growth is sustainable, says Thomas J. Duesterberg, president and CEO of Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI.
"The inventory cycle has further to run, and this should sustain …
These materials, prepared by Robert W. Baird & Co. for MDM, are for informational purposes only.
In a recent MDM survey on the economy, 39 percent of respondents said credit has become less available in the past six months. Nearly 54 percent said that access to credit has not changed significantly, implying credit remains tight for most.
In the survey, respondents noted banks have grown stricter, increasing collateral requirements, lowering credit lines and increasing rates and fees.
"Credit institutions are no longer willing to loan on …
Here's what Cantara says about banking in a difficult credit environment.
MDM: What do you want to see from a potential new customer?
DC: The key point is we're looking for relationships, not …
Compared with one year ago, that's an improvement. In the September 2008 survey of MDM readers, 28 percent expected the economy to grow worse; the September 2009 survey shows just 16.7 percent expect the economy to worsen. Most (47.5 percent) expect the economy to stay the same.
More than half are "very concerned" over the state of the economy, and a little more than a third are "concerned."
Some respondents pointed to specific sectors: …
MDM: This has been an interesting year. What are some of the issues that HARDI members have been dealing with over the last year?
David McIlwaine: Other than the general economic malaise, many of our members are tied to residential new construction markets. And in many areas, those markets collapsed 50 percent or 60 percent or more. That definitely provided challenges to our members.
In general as an industry, we're going through the phase-out of the R22 refrigerant …
Much has already been written about the "science" of strategic pricing. I have written some of it, including Strategic Pricing for Distributors, published by the NAW Institute earlier this year. I intended the book as a do-it-yourself explanation of strategic pricing.
The magicians Penn & Teller famously perform a magic act that reveals the secrets of magic tricks. But even if you know the secrets, learning how to execute those illusions requires skill and experience. And even if you understand the relatively simple concepts behind strategic pricing, successful implementation is challenging work.
Distributors and manufacturers responding to a recent MDM survey seemed practical in their approach to opportunities in alternative energy markets.
Some said they were not interested in going after these markets, not knowing where they were headed. But others were more optimistic, saying the niche is a growing one, will likely grow for some time, and they want a piece of the pie. As one manufacturer said: "The growth rate is hard to ignore."
The growth rate may be hard to ignore, but with a rapid growth rate comes growing pains. And as detailed in the Sept. 10 issue of MDM, no one knows whether that growth rate will be sustainable leaving many to question how much and when they should invest in the space.
U.S. manufacturers are beginning to bring back production from foreign countries as they take a holistic look at the costs and problems associated with outsourcing. About a year ago I was visiting a manufacturing plant that manufactured die-cutting presses. The CEO told me that most of the presses were manufactured in Taiwan, but there were a lot of problems trying to communicate the requirements, which resulted in quality problems.
The mergers and acquisitions market in distribution has changed dramatically in the past 24 months. While several deals were announced weekly in 2006 and 2007, the market flow today has slowed to a trickle. MDM spoke with distribution M&A experts about current conditions, and when they believe the market could turn around.
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