U.S. distributors’sales of PT/MC products have fluctuated all year, with six out of ten months of positive growth in sales, according to the Power Transmission Distributors Association’s October 2007 trend data.  ; October sales came in at 5.3 percent over September sales.
  ;
Year-to-year comparisons have been in the positive all year; sales in October 2007 came in
9.4 percent higher than in October 2006. Accounts receivable collection days decreased 6.8 percent over September 2007. The October 2007 confidence index for U.S. distributors dropped to 6.2 (on a 10-point scale) after holding steady at 6.6. for the past seven months.
  ;
Canadian distributors’sales in PT/MC products on a month-to-month comparison matched the performance of their U.S. counterparts, gaining 3.7 percent over September 2007.  ; Compared to October 2006, sales in October 2007 experienced a 1.0 percent gain. Account receivables collection days reversed direction from September 2007, decreasing 7.7 percent in October 2007. After a brief uptick in September, the confidence level of Canadian distributors in October 2007 dropped back to its August 2007 level of 5.3 (on a 10-point scale)
  ;
After a drop in sales last month, U.S. manufacturers’sales spiked 11.2 percent from September to October 2007. Sales growth over the same period last year also rose, increasing 7.5 percent. The confidence level of U.S. manufacturers’remained flat for the fourth consecutive month at 5.5 (on a 10-point scale).
  ;
Mirroring their U.S. counterparts, Canadian manufacturers’month-to-month sales rose 3.1 percent in October after a decrease in sales the month before. Year-to-year sales growth decreased, falling 2.2 percent over October 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 September and October 2007, U.S. manufacturers experienced an overall increase in sales in all product categories except two (positioning systems/linear motion products and mounted bearings). Only three of Canadian manufacturers’product categories experienced a decrease in sales & mdash; mounted bearings, mechanical drive systems & other PT products and positioning systems/linear motion products.
  ;
The Market Outlook Report is published monthly by the Power Transmission Distributors Association. The full report is available by annual subscription via e-mail or mail by contacting +1.312.516.2100 or may be ordered online at www.ptda.org/store; PTDA members may download the report at no charge through the PTDA web site at www.ptda.org/MOR.
