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Breaking news in Wholesale Distribution
Chicago, IL-based Grainger, broad line distributor of facilities maintenance products, said it plans to become a 53% majority owner of MonotaRO, a direct marketer of MRO supplies in Japan. Grainger expects to invest $4 million through a tender offer bid process later this summer.
MonotaRO started as a joint venture between Grainger and Sumitomo Corp. in 2000. The business offers more than 110,000 products to more than 320,000 customers. In 2008, MonotaRO had revenues of $136 million and operating earnings of $11 million.
Grainger CEO Jim Ryan says that Grainger estimates the Japanese MRO market at $50 billion. "This increased investment, along with our recent acquisition of Asia Pacific ...
An article in BusinessWeek reminds everyone that markets are local - as most independent distributors know very well. It points out: "You'll know we're back to an ordinary, boring real estate market when buyers focus less on the intricacies of foreclosures, short sales and the like and go back to the things that used to matter most: What are the schools like? How quiet is the neighborhood? When am I going to have to replace that roof or cut down that diseased oak?" Demographics shifts, employment growth and so on drive local housing markets because after all, "there is no such place as National Median, U.S.A.," the article says.
In related housing news, ...
Order intake volume at Swedish manufacturer Sandvik gradually declined in April and May to a level 40% to 50% lower than last year, due primarily to low demand across customer segments. As a result, the company has had to take extensive actions to offset the impact, including reducing staff by 6,000 since October.
In addition to the staff reductions, work hours will be reduced by 15% to 20% for about 12,000 to 14,000 workers beginning in June, and 10 production sites will be permanently closed.
"The current market situation is very weak, which has a substantial effect on a business like Sandvik's. Implemented and approved actions will have a gradual effect, but the weak volume trend in the second quarter and probably also the third quarter will have a significantly negative effect ...
Actuant Corp., Milwaukee, WI, reported sales for the third quarter ended May 31, 2009, were $290 million, down 35% from the prior year. Core sales declined 33%. The diversified industrial company recorded a loss of $17.6 million for the term, compared to profit of $38.6 million for third quarter 2008.
Year to date, sales declined 23% to $970 million. The net loss for the nine months ended May 31, 2009 was $2.8 million. Profit for third quarter of fiscal 2008 was $88.3 million.
Cost-cutting measures have been implemented throughout the fiscal year, with staff reductions of 7% in the third quarter for a total of 21% reduction year-to-date. Further reductions are expected as restructuring continues, CEO Robert C. Arzbaecher says.
Industrial segment sales in the third quarter ...
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A commentary on the relationship between distributors and manufacturers by PVF industry veteran Robert Vick in The Wholesaler: It's an honest rundown of perceptions on both sides of the fence looking at things like the cost of manufacturers' going direct, the substitution of branded with non-branded product, wholesalers' knowledge of their costs, openness to technology, and so on. He says:
"Survival for both the manufacturers and wholesalers depends on the changes we are willing to make for each other before we can make the changes we need to have a better understanding of the role each of us play in the supply chain and which direction we must take to make ...
Canadian wholesale sales in current dollars fell 0.6% to $40.3 billion in April. Lower sales in the building materials sector and the machinery and electronic equipment sector were the main factors contributing to the decrease, according to Statistics Canada. In terms of the volume of sales, wholesale sales were up 0.5%. This was the first increase since September 2008.
Canadian wholesalers sell to both the domestic and international markets, and are active importers and exporters. The increase in the volume of sales, compared with the decrease in current dollar sales in April, reflects lower prices paid by wholesalers for imported goods, and the effect of the appreciation of the Canadian dollar versus the US dollar during the month.
In April, four of the seven sectors, accounting for ...
Housing starts went up 17.2% in May to an annual rate of 518,000, compared with April, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The number is 45.2% below May 2008.
Single-family housing starts in May were at a rate of 401,000, 7.5% above April. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 124,000.
Housing units authorized by building permits were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 518,000, 4% above April and 47% below May 2008. Single-family authorizations in May were 7.9% above April. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 92,000 in May.
Privately-owned housing completions in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 811,000, 3.3% ...
Industrial production decreased 1.1% in May after having fallen a downward-revised 0.7% in April, according to the Federal Reserve. The average decrease in industrial production during the first three months of the year was 1.6%.
Manufacturing output moved down 1.0% in May with broad-based declines across industries. Outside of manufacturing, the output of mines dropped 2.1%, and the output of utilities fell 1.4%.
At 95.8% of its 2002 average, overall industrial output in May was 13.4% below its year-earlier level. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry declined further in May to 68.3%, a level 12.6 percentage points below its average for 1972-2008. Prior to the current recession, the low over the history of this series, which begins in 1967, was 70.9% in December ...
Wholesale prices moved up 0.2% in May, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by producers of intermediate goods rose 0.3% following a 0.5% decline a month earlier, and the crude goods index climbed 3.6% after rising 3% in April.
In May, a 2.9% increase in finished energy goods prices more than offset a 1.6% decline in the index for finished consumer foods and a 0.1% decrease in prices for finished goods other than foods and energy.
Before seasonal adjustment, the Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 0.5% in May to 170.8 (1982 = 100). From May 2008 to May 2009, finished goods prices decreased 5%. Over the same period, the finished energy goods index fell 27.3% and ...
The firm reports a metric that tracks manufacturers that have suffered a 50% or greater decline in volume shipped to U.S. customers in the most recent three-month period, versus the same period a year ago. These manufacturers are on the Panjiva Watch List. "Significant manufacturers" are those that have shipped 10 or more shipments to the U.S. over the past year. "Significant buyers" are those that have received 10 or more shipments from overseas manufacturers in the past year.
According to Panjiva, the number of ...
