The Power Transmission Distributors Association Business Index indicated the fourth quarter 2011 was the seventh consecutive quarter for business growth among PTDA members, with a reading of 67.3.

Compared with a reading of 68.1 for the third quarter 2011, the recently released fourth-quarter results indicate the power transmission/motion control industry is expanding at a slightly slower pace than before. 

Both distributors and manufacturers saw growth in the fourth quarter. Distributors outpaced manufacturers for the first quarter in the survey’s history.

(The index reading indicates the rate of change compared with the previous period. For example, a reading of 50 indicates no change from the prior period while readings above 50 indicate growth and below 50 indicate contraction. The further the index is above or below 50 suggests a faster or slower rate of change.)

The table below provides an overview of the results from the fourth quarter 2011 index and a comparison with the third quarter. 

PTDA members participating in the Business Index expect 2012 to be another year of growth with an average forecast of 9 percent, up from 8 percent in the third quarter 2011 survey.

The PTDA Business Index full report is available through PTDA’s website at www.ptda.org/Index. It includes U.S. and Canadian breakout data in addition to historical data. Conducted jointly by PTDA and Cleveland Research Company, the PTDA Quarterly Business Index was modeled after the Purchasing Managers Index and tracks change in business activity, new orders, employment, supplier deliveries, inventories, prices and backlog in the PT/MC market to arrive at an overall index.