Chicago-based Grainger has completed its tender offer bid in Japan for 53 percent of MonotaRO Co. Ltd., a Japanese distributor of MRO supplies to businesses in Japan. As a majority owner, Grainger will recognize 100 percent off the fair value of acquired assets and assumed liabilities of MonotaRO. More

Grainger reported daily sales in August 2009 were down 13 percent compared with August 2008 due to continued weak demand across customer end-markets and geographies. Sales in the U.S. were down 14 percent, in Canada were down 8 percent (down 5 percent in local currency), and in Other Businesses, sales were up 16 percent. More

Houston, TX-based McJunkin Red Man Corporation (MRC) has agreed to acquire Transmark Fcx Group B.V. Since 2007, MRC also has acquired the remaining ownership of Midfield Supply in Canada and acquired St. Louis, MO-based LaBarge Pipe and Steel. More

Carlisle Companies Inc., Charlotte, NC, has acquired Jerrik Inc, Tempe, AZ. Jerrik will operate as part of Carlisle Interconnect Technologies. More

Los Angeles, CA-based Platinum Equity has signed a definitive agreement to purchase controlling interest in the Alcan Cable division of Rio Tinto. Alcan Cable, a division of the Alcan Engineered Products business, is a manufacturer of aluminum cable products. More

Interfast Inc., Toronto, Ontario, has purchased certain assets of UK-based Burwood Fastener Products Ltd. and launched a new European division that will operate under the name Interfast Europe Ltd. David Proctor has been appointed general manager of Interfast Europe Ltd. and Howard Gerstein becomes director of sales and marketing. More

WinWholesale, Dayton, OH, has opened Wilmington Winnelson Company in Wilmington, NC, to provide plumbing contractors in a 60-mile radius with a complete line of equipment, parts and accessories. Brian Daniel is president of the new company, which has shared ownership with local shareholders and WinWholesale. More

Womack Machine Supply Co., Farmers Branch, TX, has appointed Kenny Talley to the CFO position. More

Wholesale prices increased 1.7 percent in August, according to today’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. This increase follows a 0.9 percent decline in July and a 1.8 percent advance in June. In August, at the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods rose 1.8 percent and the crude goods index moved up 3.8 percent. On an unadjusted basis, prices for finished goods fell 4.3 percent from August 2008 to August 2009, following a record 6.8 percent 12-month decline in July. More

July U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $149.51 million, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association, and the Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was up 9.2 percent from June but down 55.3 percent from the total of $334.14 million reported for July 2008. With a year-to-date total of $910.42 million, 2009 is down 68.3 percent compared with 2008. More Canadian and U.S. manufacturers experienced a drop in sales in July 2009 according to sales data released by the Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA). Confidence in both the Canadian and U.S. market rose slightly by 0.1 percent from last month to 4.5 and 4.9 respectively. U.S. manufacturers’ sales fell by 10.4 percent in July 2009 when compared to June 2009. Sales in July 2009 fell 38 percent compared to the same period last year. Orders in July 2009 increased slightly by 1.4 percent over June 2009 orders. Canadian manufacturers’ sales fell 11.6 percent compared to June 2009. Sales were down 29.6 percent when compared to the same period last year. More

Illinois Tool Works Inc., Glenview, IL, reported an operating revenue decrease of 21 percent for the three months ended Aug. 31, 2009. The revenue decline for the three months consisted of a 19 percent decrease in base revenues and a 7 percent decline in contributions from currency translation. Acquisitions contributed 5 percent to revenues in the three month period. More

Brady Corp., Milwaukee, WI, reported sales in the fiscal 2009 fourth quarter were $287.2 million. Organic sales were down 23 percent, acquisition growth was flat and foreign currency translation reduced sales by 5 percent. Net income for the fourth quarter was $19.2 million. In fiscal 2009, Brady’s sales were $1.2 billion, down from $1.5 billion in fiscal 2008. Organic sales were down 16 percent. Profit for fiscal 2009 was $70.1 million, compared with $132.2 million in fiscal 2008. More

Canadian wholesale sales increased for the second consecutive month in July, mainly as a result of higher sales in the automotive products sector. Sales in current dollars rose 2.8 percent to $41.7 billion, according to the latest report from Statistics Canada. In volume terms, wholesale sales were up 2.6 percent in July, their fourth consecutive monthly increase. In July, five of the seven wholesale trade sectors had stronger sales, while the food, beverage and tobacco products and farm products sectors posted the only declines. More

Canadian manufacturing sales increased 5.5 percent to $41.4 billion in July, building on the 2.2 percent increase in June, according to the latest report from Statistics Canada. The motor vehicle, motor vehicle parts and the primary metals industries were the major contributors to the rise in sales in July. Manufacturing sales in July remained 22.4 percent below the $53.3 billion posted a year earlier. Excluding the motor vehicle assembly and motor vehicle parts industries, manufacturing sales increased 2.1 percent. The largest increase was in the automotive products sector, which benefited from higher Canadian exports and imports of automotive products. Sales in the automotive products sector were up 14.2 percent to $6.8 billion in July, a sixth straight monthly advance. Despite this gain, sales in the automotive products sector remained 13.5 percent below their July 2008 level. More

Free trade agreements in Asia, particularly by South Korea and India, pose a threat to U.S. manufactured exports that will continue to be subject to relatively high tariffs, according to a new Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI report, Free Trade Agreements in Asia: U.S. Exports at Risk and Much More. In 2004, Korean imports of manufactured goods were roughly at parity, with $22.2 billion from the United States and $23.4 billion from China. But only three years later, in 2007, imports from China were up by 126 percent, to $53.0 billion, while imports from the U.S. were up by only 29 percent, to $28.7 billion. More