U.S. distributors’sales of power transmission/motion control products continue to fluctuate, dropping 5.9 percent from October to November after a 5.2 percent increase in sales the prior month, according to the latest Power Transmission Distributors Association month-end trend data for November 2007.

Year-to-year comparisons have been positive all year; sales in November 2007 came in 6.8 percent higher than in November 2006.  Accounts receivable collection days also continue to fluctuate, increasing 2.5 percent in November 2007 after dropping 6.8 percent last month. The November 2007 confidence index for U.S. distributors remained flat at 6.2 (on a 10-point scale).
 
Canadian distributors’sales in PT/MC products increased slightly, gaining 0.3 percent from October to November 2007.  Compared to November 2006, sales in November 2007 dropped 1.7 percent.  After a decrease in October, account receivables collection days were up 1.0 percent in November.  The confidence level of Canadian distributors in November 2007 remained flat at 5.3 (on a 10-point scale).
 
After a spike in sales last month, U.S. manufacturers’month-to-month sales dropped 9.9 percent from October to November 2007.  Sales growth over the same period last year continued to grow, increasing 4.2 percent.  The confidence level of U.S. manufacturers’remained flat for the fifth consecutive month at 5.5 (on a 10-point scale).
 
Mirroring their U.S. counterparts, Canadian manufacturers’month-to-month sales decreased 3.6 percent in November after an increase in sales the month before. Year-to-year sales continued to decrease, falling 1.0 percent over November 2006.  The confidence level of Canadian manufacturers also remained flat at 5.2 on a 10-point scale, a level it has maintained since June.
 
Between October and November 2007, U.S. manufacturers experienced a decrease in sales of all product categories, while their Canadian counterparts experienced growth in five out of nine product categories — standard industrial motors, gear products, mounted bearings, positioning systems/linear motion products and shaft couplings.
 
The Market Outlook Report is published monthly by the Power Transmission Distributors Association. The full report includes month-to-month and year-to-year changes for the current and the previous years in sales, inventory and accounts receivables data for U.S. and Canadian distributors as well as a general confidence index. U.S. and Canadian manufacturer data includes a confidence index, as well as sales and order trends for mounted bearings, unmounted bearings, standard industrial motors, variable speed drives, positioning systems/linear motion products, gear products, clutches and breaks, shaft couplings and mechanical drive systems and other PT products. 
 
The report is available by annual subscription via e-mail or mail by contacting (312)-516-2100 or may be ordered online at www.ptda.org/store.