U.K.-based Wolseley, No. 1 on MDM’s list of top 40 industrial distributors, reported sales for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2010, were £13.2 billion (US$20.9 billion), down 9 percent from the prior year. On a constant currency basis, sales were down 10 percent. The distributor recorded a loss of £340 million (US$538.9 million), compared to a year-ago loss of £1.17 billion. More

Duncan Industrial Solutions Inc., Oklahoma City, OK, has been acquired by BlackHawk Industrial Distribution, Inc., Dallas, TX. Duncan is the first acquisition for BlackHawk, a new industrial distribution platform created through a partnership between Bill Scheller, former CEO and president of ORS Nasco, and Brazos Private Equity Partners, LLC. More

The Board of Directors for Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, reappointed CEO Peter McCausland to the board to serve as a director. The board also unanimously appointed John C. van Roden Jr. to serve as chairman. McCausland was ousted as a chairman and director by shareholder vote in a proxy battle instigated by the Air Products hostile takeover bid. More

A special committee of Atlanta-based BlueLinx Holdings Inc. has recommended that stockholders accept the pending tender offer to sell their shares to Cerberus ABP Investors LLC. Cerberus recently raised its offer price to $4 a share, up from $3.40 a share. More

Carlisle Companies Inc., Charlotte, NC, has sold Trail King Industries, Inc., its specialty trailer business. Trail King had year-to-date sales of $69 million through the third quarter of 2010. More

Thomas & Betts Corp., Memphis, TN, has acquired Cable Management Group, Ltd., a privately held, global manufacturer of cable protection systems specified in industrial and infrastructure / construction applications, for £70 million (US$110 million) from available cash reserves. More

Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corp., Cleveland, OH, has completed its purchase of CopperLogic, Inc., a manufacturer of electrical and electromechanical systems. More

Washington, D.C.-based Danaher Corp., has agreed to acquire Keithley Instruments, Inc., Solon, OH, a manufacturer of complex electronic instruments and systems. Keithley will become part of Danaher’s Tektronix business. More

Diversified industrial company Actuant Corp., Butler, WI, announced plans to divest its European Electrical business, which markets its products primarily under the Kopp brand name. The European Electrical business has previously been reported as part of the company’s Electrical segment. More

Actuant reported sales for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2010, were $1.16 billion, up 4 percent over fiscal 2009. Core sales increased 2 percent. Profit increased 75 percent to $24 million. Fourth-quarter sales were $310 million, an increase of 19 percent, with core sales increasing 18 percent. The diversified industrial company recorded a fourth quarter loss of $16.8 million, compared to a year-ago loss of $16.5 million. More

Fairmont Supply, Canonsburg, PA, expanded by opening the Fairmont Supply Oil & Gas Division in Washington, PA. It will supply gas and oil exploration and production companies with products including pipe, valves and fittings, safety equipment, hose and rubber products, general industrial tools and others. More

Carmel, IN-based Schlage Lock Company LLC, a business unit of Ingersoll Rand, has acquired the Door Hardware Division of Fusion Hardware Group. Fusion manufactures decorative door hardware and accessories, including knobs, levers, deadbolts and keyed entry plates. More

North American HVACR median distributor sales increased 15 percent in August compared to last year, according to the latest Monthly Targeted and Regional Economic News for Distribution Strategies (TRENDS) report, released by Heating, Airconditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International. More

Manufacturing expanded in September, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The Purchasing Managers Index stood at 54.4, a decrease of 1.9 percent points from August. September marks 14 consecutive months of growth for manufacturing and 17 consecutive months of growth for the overall economy. More

Construction spending in August 2010 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $811.8 billion, 0.4 percent above the revised July estimate of $808.6 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. During the first 8 months of this year, construction spending amounted to $539.4 billion, 11.2 percent below the $607.5 billion for the same period in 2009. More

The transmission/motion control (PT/MC) industry experienced rapid expansion during the second quarter, according to the inaugural Quarterly Business Index released by the Power Transmission Distributors Association. The overall reading of the association’s distributor and manufacturer members revealed an index of 77.0. A reading above 50 indicates growth. More

Real gross domestic product – the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the U.S. – increased at an annual rate of 1.7 percent in the second quarter of 2010, (from the first quarter to the second quarter), according to the “third” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP increased 3.7 percent. More

The Canadian Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) increased 0.4 percent in August compared with July, led by primary metal products, according to Statistics Canada. The Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI) rose 2.2 percent, mainly as a result of higher prices for non-ferrous metals. More

The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index (CFMMI) decreased 1.4 percent in August, to a seasonally adjusted level of 79.9. The Federal Reserve Board’s industrial production index for manufacturing (IPMFG) edged up 0.2 percent in August. More

Regional output in August rose 8.5 percent from a year earlier, and national output increased 6.5 percent.The Chicago Fed National Activity Index’s three-month moving average, CFNAI-MA3, declined to -0.42 in August from -0.27 in July. August’s CFNAI-MA3 suggests that growth in national economic activity was below its historical trend, according to a press release. More

New orders for manufactured durable goods in August decreased $2.5 billion or 1.3 percent to $191.1 billion in August, according to the latest release from the U.S. Census Bureau. Down three of the last four months, this decrease followed a 0.7 percent July increase. More

Sales of power transmission/motion control (PT/MC) products by U.S. manufacturers dropped in July by 1.3 percent compared with the previous month, and Canadian manufacturers’ sales dropped by 12.3 percent according to July 2010 sales data released by the Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) in its Market Outlook Report. More

Privately-owned housing starts in August 2010 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 598,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 10.5 percent above the revised July estimate and 2.2 percent above the August 2009 rate. More

Worthington Industries, Inc., Columbus, OH, reported sales of $616.8 million and net earnings of $23.3 million for its fiscal 2011 first quarter ended August 31, 2010. In last year’s first quarter, the diversified metals manufacturing company reported sales of $417.5 million and profit of $6.7 million. More