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Thinking of Adding Rooftop Solar? Here’s What Distributors Should Know

Examine the potential rooftop solar has for distributors' ROI, and review a case study of a small distributor getting results from recent installations.
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MDM April 2024 Premium Monthly

This new-look issue offers research on suppliers’ changing purchase minimums, distributors’ (lack of) AI progress and geopolitical impacts; and updates on Ferguson, Home Depot-SRS Distribution and more.

MDM March 2024 Premium Monthly

This issue compares AI adoption rates in manufacturing vs. distribution; explores Grainger’s role as a ‘Problem-Solver’; examines Border States’ acquisition path; and shares takeaways from the MODEX expo.
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MDM 1Q 2024 M&A Report

See our in-depth M&A articles from the first three months of 2024, including the Home Depot-SRS blockbuster; the acquisition strategy for Ferguson and Border States; and the latest EBITDA trading multiples.

MDM 1Q 2024 MarketPulse Report

Find a wealth of data and analysis extracted from the 1Q24 Baird-MDM Industrial Distribution Survey, including trending charts and figures for revenue and expectations, plus plenty of interesting commentary.

MDM 4Q 2023 M&A Report

The report features in-depth articles that recap the year that was 2023 in distribution dealmaking, a full rundown of every deal we covered in October-December, the latest EBITDA trading multiples and more.

MDM 4Q 2023 MarketPulse Report

Find a wealth of data and analysis extracted from the 3Q23 Baird-MDM Industrial Distribution Survey, including trending charts and figures for revenue and expectations, plus plenty of interesting commentary.

MDM 3Q 2023 MarketPulse Report

Find a wealth of data and analysis extracted from the 3Q23 Baird-MDM Industrial Distribution Survey, including trending charts and figures for revenue and expectations, plus plenty of interesting commentary.
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Top Distributor Sectors
The Impact of the MSC Industrial Supply-Barnes Deal

In February, MSC Industrial Direct Co. (NYSE: MSM) announced plans to buy Barnes Distribution North America, which has a footprint throughout the U.S. and Canada. This article takes a look at the impact of the deal, both on the individual companies and on the industrial distribution landscape.

MRO distributor MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc., Melville, NY, has agreed to acquire the North American distribution business of the Barnes Group Inc., for $550 million. The acquisition, which is expected to close in late March or early April, will add fasteners and other high-margin consumable products and services to MSC’s portfolio. MSC also gains Barnes’ vendor managed inventory solution.

The deal does not include the Associated Spring Raymond portion of Barnes Distribution North America.

The transaction will contribute to MSC’s goal of reaching $4 billion in revenues by 2016, according to MSC President and CEO Erik Gershwind.

Deal Drivers
“Barnes Distribution North America brings to MSC a complete vendor-managed inventory solution, which strengthens MSC’s value proposition to its customer base,” says Tom Lange, managing director and head of Robert W. Baird & Co.’s Distribution Group, which advised Barnes Group on the divestiture.

“Second, Barnes Distribution and MSC have ...

Finance
Airgas Buys Gartech
Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, has acquired Gartech Refrigerant Reclamation Center, Inc., with locations in Garland, TX, and Oklahoma City, OK.
&nbsp ;
Airgas Specialty Products, in the distribution of industrial ammonia, process chemicals, and refrigerants, has integrated Gartech's operations, which generated almost $2 million in revenue in 2006.
&nbsp ;
Airgas, Inc. is a distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases, and hardgoods, such as welding equipment and supplies. It has more than 1,100 locations, including branches, retail stores, gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities and distribution centers in the ...
Finance
Curtiss-Wright Acquires Controls Supplier for $102M
Curtiss-Wright Corporation, Roseland, NJ, has acquired Benshaw Advanced Controls & Drives, Pittsburgh, PA, for $102 million in cash.
&nbsp ;
Benshaw is a supplier of motor control and protection product solutions for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and industrial customers. The business will become part of Curtiss-Wright's Flow Control segment.
&nbsp ;
The addition of Benshaw to the Curtiss-Wright family of companies provides a major opportunity to expand our product offerings in the commercial power, control electronics and systems markets," said Curtiss-Wright CEO Martin R. Benante. "Benshaw's expertise in electronic motor control and protection technology will support our growth in high speed motors and AP1000 pumps, as well as providing a low-cost manufacturing ...
Finance
EnPro Buys Compressor Products International
EnPro Industries Inc., Charlotte, NC, manufacturer of engineered industrial products, has acquired Compressor Products International, a privately-held company that designs, manufactures and services sealing components for reciprocating compressors.
&nbsp ;
CPI, Hungerford, Berkshire, England, manufactures critical sealing components for reciprocating compressors and related equipment for both compressor manufacturers and for the oil, gas and petrochemical industries.
&nbsp ;
It will be combined with EnPro's France Compressor Products business to create the world's largest manufacturer of reciprocating compressor sealing components.
&nbsp ;
This acquisition is a very positive step for FCP and CPI, as well as for EnPro," said Ernie Schaub, EnPro president and chief ...
Finance
Industrial Distribution Group Considers Strategic Alternatives
Industrial Distribution Group, Inc. announced it has formed a committee of independent directors to review strategic alternatives for the industrial distributor, which has about $500 million in annual sales. It also announced it expects revenue for the second quarter to be $132.6 million, down from last year.
&nbsp ;
In addition, the company preannounced announced a cost-reduction program and related changes to its executive team.
&nbsp ;
The independent committee will be led by the company's non-executive chairman of the board, Richard M. Seigel.
&nbsp ;
IDG needs to consistently grow revenues at a higher level while also seeking a strategic way to reduce its cost profile, both of which have been a source of concern," Seigel said. "It is imperative that we take ...
Finance
SKF to Buy Bearings Supplier
SKF has agreed to buy S2M, a subsidiary of British company Edwards Limited, a manufacturer of magnetic bearings, for 55 million euros (US$75.04 million).
&nbsp ;
S2M has annual sales of 40 million euros (US$54.5 million). It is headquartered in Vernon, France.
&nbsp ;
S2M focuses mainly on the European markets, with end-user segments in vacuum pumps, small air and gas compressors, turbo expanders and compressors in the oil and gas industry.
&nbsp ;
S2M will be part of SKF's Industrial ...
Finance
Valley National Gases Acquires Mitchell Industrial
Valley National Gases Inc., Washington, PA, has acquired Mitchell Industrial Supply Inc, an industrial gases and welding supply distributor in Elkhart, IN. Mitchell serves customers throughout Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan.
&nbsp ;
Valley National Gases is a packager and distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, welding equipment and supplies, propane and fire protection equipment. Valley National Gases operates 75 locations in 14 states, with eight production and distribution centers in the eastern ...
Finance
RBC Bearings Acquires Coastal Bearing Services
RBC Bearings Inc., Oxford, CT, an international manufacturer of precision plain, roller and ball bearings, has acquired CBS/Coastal Bearing Services, Houston, TX, for $3.7 million in cash.
&nbsp ;
CBS manufactures, inspects and refurbishes large bearings for the oil and mining industries, as well as other general industrial applications with sizes ranging up to 124 inches in diameter. CBS has sales of $3.1 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006.


RBC said that CBS represents another step in our strategy to expand our presence in the large bearing segment."

RBC operates 17 manufacturing facilities in four ...
Finance
Wolseley Appoints VP of Acquisitions for NA
UK-based Wolseley plc has appointed Dan Parr to vice president of Acquisitions and Business Integration for Wolseley's North American Division, comprised of Ferguson, Stock Building Supply and Wolseley Canada.
&nbsp ;
He will oversee acquisitions, and coordinate business integration and installation into Wolseley's systems and processes.

Parr began his career with Ferguson in 1988 as an Internal Auditor. He was promoted two years later to internal audit manager and transferred to Atlanta, Ga., in 1993 to become the integration manager for our Hub, Inc. acquisition. Parr returned to headquarters in 1995 as manager of Acquisitions and Installations, and was promoted to director in 2003 and to vice president in ...
Top Distributor Sectors
Simpson Strong-Tie Buys Swan Secure Products
Simpson Strong-Tie Company Inc. has purchased Swan Secure Products Inc., Baltimore, MD, a manufacturer of stainless steel and other fasteners, for $43.5 million in cash. Swan Secure has locations throughout the U.S.


Simpson offers a line of wood-to-wood, wood-to-concrete, and wood-to-masonry connectors and fastening systems, and pre-fabricated shearwalls. Simpson also sells adhesives, mechanical anchors and powder actuated tools for concrete, masonry and ...
Finance
Platinum Equity to Buy Ryerson for $2B
Platinum Equity has agreed to acquire Ryerson Inc., Chicago, IL, for $2 billion, which includes the assumption of debt. The price represents a 15% premium over Ryerson's closing share price on Feb. 31, 2007, the day Ryerson announced it was considering strategic alternatives.

Ryerson is a distributor and processor of metals in North America, with 2006 revenues of $5.9 billion.
&nbsp ;
With the transaction, Ryerson will go from a public to a private company.
&nbsp ;
The merger agreement allows Ryerson to solicit additional proposals from other potential acquirers through Aug. 18, 2007.
&nbsp ;
When Ryerson announced it was considering strategic alternatives for the company, 50 potential acquirers were identified and contacted, including foreign and domestic ...
Finance
Sumitomo Electric Carbide Buys Master Tool
Sumitomo Electric Carbide Inc., Mount Prospect, IL, has acquired cutting tool manufacturer Master Tool, Grand River, OH.
&nbsp ;
Master Tool specializes in the development of custom tooling to machine critical features on engine blocks, cylinder heads, connecting rods, crank shafts, transmission cases and other automotives parts.
&nbsp ;
Sumitomo manufactures metal cutting tool ...
Finance
Kendall Electric Buys Roden Electric

Kendall Electric has purchased Roden Electric, an electrical distributor in the South Central U.S. with more than $120 million in annual sales.

Kendall Electric has more than $400 million in annual sales. It serves the Industrial, OEM, and Construction markets.

Roden will continue under the Roden brand name.

Investment banking firm Vetus Partners advised on the ...

Finance
Myers Industries Approves Acquisition by Private Equity Firm
Shareholders of Myers Industries, Inc., Akron, OH, has approved the plan of merger, where Myers Holdings Corp., controlled by GS Capital Partners, would acquire the polymer product manufacturer and distributor of tools, equipment and supplies for $1.1 billion, including the assumption of debt.
&nbsp ;
The company had sales of $780 million in 2006.
&nbsp ;
GS Capital Partners is part of Goldman Sachs & Co.'s Principal Investment Area in the Merchant Banking ...
Finance
Womack Machine Supply Buys FPS Technologies
Womack Machine Supply Company has acquired Birmingham, AL-based FPS Technologies.

FPS distributes many of the same product lines as Womack (Bosch Rexroth, Haskel, Hydac, Hydraforce) and operates a hydraulic repair center near

Birmingham . The industries they serve include Automotive, Steel, Wood Products, Material Handling and Marine.

The combination of both companies allows Womack Machine Supply to expand distribution and service of fluid power and automation products into Alabama, Mississippi, and the

Florida panhandle.

Womack Machine Supply is an industrial distributor of hydraulic, ...
Finance
M& A at a Record High
Last week continued to be a blockbuster for M & A, with a strong showing by strategic players in the industrial and construction arenas: $400M Kendall Electric will buy $120M Roden</a>; Lewis-Goetz has acquired Samson Industrial</a>; and Saint-Gobain will purchase Norandex.

A recent survey shows that a record $2.7 trillion was spent worldwide on mergers and acquisitions in the first half of 2007 (story). Total mergers in the first half are 67% ...
Finance
Saint-Gobain Acquires Norandex
Saint-Gobain has acquired the Norandex group from Owens Corning. Norandex group is split into two units: building materials distribution and vinyl siding manufacturing. The deal values Norandex at $343 million.
&nbsp ;
Norandex had sales of $866 million in 2006.
&nbsp ;
The Norandex brand, which will be integrated into Saint-Gobain's Building Distribution sector, has a network of 153 specialized distribution branches dealing mainly in exterior building products (siding, doors, windows, etc.).

Norandex also has three plants used to manufacture vinyl siding, which are distributed by its own branches as well as by other independent distributors. The Norandex plants will be consolidated with the existing production facilities operated by the exterior building ...
Finance
M& A Survey: ‘It’s a Seller’s Market’

A record $2.7 trillion in first half 2007 worldwide mergers has led dealmakers to call the current M & A environment good or excellent (93%), according to a new survey by Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) and Thomson Financial.&nbsp ;

&nbsp ;
However, there is growing concern among private equity professionals -who have played an increasingly important role in the merger boom -that the easy availability of debt financing which has helped fuel transactions will tighten, with 68% saying the debt markets will be worse in the next year.&nbsp ;
&nbsp ;
The ACG/Thomson DealMakers Survey polled 1,011 investment bankers, private equity professionals, corporate development officers, as well as lawyers, accountants and other service providers involved in the deal ...
Finance
Lewis-Goetz Acquires Samson Industrial

Lewis-Goetz and Company, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, has acquired Samson Industrial, expanding its reach further into the Southeast and solidifying its presence in the Gulf Coast.&nbsp ;


Samson Industrial is a distributor and fabricator of specialty industrial supplies specializing in fluid and material conveyance, fluid sealing, vibration and dampening, fastening, personal safety and industrial tools. Samson has 15 locations, including its headquarters in Tulsa, OK.


Lewis-Goetz is a distributor of fabricated industrial rubber products including industrial, hydraulic and metal hose, conveyer belts, gaskets and seals, and related accessories.

Private equity firm Audax Group recent bought Lewis-Goetz, which, with recently acquired Goodall Rubber ...
Finance
NESCO Buys Yankee Electric Supply
NESCO, Canton, MA, a full-service electrical distributor serving electrical contractors, national retail accounts, commercial and industrial companies, and institutional accounts, has acquired Yankee Electric Supply.
&nbsp ;
Yankee Electric Supply is headquartered in Winooski, VT, with branch locations in Winooski and Morrisville, VT, and in Lebanon and Woodsville, NH. Both Vermont locations also have a Lighting Showroom. Yankee Electric Supply will continue to operate under its name as A Division of NESCO, Needham Electric Supply.
&nbsp ;
"For the past year, NESCO has been actively researching opportunities to expand into northern New England," stated Joseph A. Cincotta, CEO of NESCO.
&nbsp ;
NESCO and Yankee together will have 12 locations throughout the New ...
Finance
Industrial Distributors McJunkin and Red Man Merge
Two major distributors of industrial and oilfield PVF supplies, McJunkin Corporation, with nearly $2 billion in annual revenues,&nbsp ; and Red Man Pipe and Supply Company, nearly $1 billion in annual sales, have announced a merger of equals" that will make the new company a leading industrial and oilfield PVF supplier in

North America. Charleston, WV, and

Tulsa, OK , will serve as co-headquarters for the new company.

McJunkin Corporation CEO and President H.B. Wehrle III and Red Man Pipe and Supply Company President and CEO Craig Ketchum will serve as Co-CEOs for the new company.

"It is an exciting time for Red Man with great ...
Economic Trends
Survey: Slight Uptick in Optimism Among Industrial Manufacturers
The first quarter edition of the PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Manufacturing Barometer reported a slight uptick in economic optimism among U.S.-based industrial manufacturers with 16% of executives polled expressing optimism about the U.S. economy over the next 12 months, up 11 points from the previous quarter. More than half the respondents (55%) remain pessimistic about the U.S. economy, which is an improvement from the 70% who were pessimistic last quarter.
 
Anxieties over international prospects remain high amidst the global recession, as 98% of manufacturers marketing abroad agree that the global economy declined in Q1. International sales turned increasingly negative in the first quarter, with more than half (60%) of respondents reporting decreased international sales from ...
Economic Trends
New Orders for Durable Goods Down 0.8% in March
New orders for manufactured durable goods in March decreased $1.3 billion or 0.8 percent to $161.2 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced in its advance report. This was the seventh decrease in the last eight months and followed a 2.1 percent February increase. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 0.6 percent. Excluding defense, new orders also decreased 0.6 percent.
 
Shipments of manufactured durable goods in March, down eight consecutive months, decreased $3.0 billion or 1.7 percent to $175.0 billion. This followed a 0.8 percent February decrease.
 
Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in March, down six consecutive months, decreased $11.2 billion or 1.4 percent to $760.3 billion. This followed a 1.6 percent February decrease. ...
Economic Trends
Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index Falls 2.4% In March
The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index fell 2.4% in March, to a seasonally adjusted level of 82.0 (2002 = 100). Revised data show the index decreased 0.4% in February, to 84.0.
 
The Federal Reserve Board's industrial production index for manufacturing fell 1.7% in March. Regional output in March was down 23.2% from a year earlier - lower than the 14.9% decrease in national output.
 
The region's steel sector output dropped 5.5% in March after falling 4.3% in February. The nation's steel output was down 3.8% in March. Regional steel output dropped 34.1% from its March 2008 level, and national steel output fell 24.2%.
 
The Midwest's machinery sector output also declined 5.5% in March after moving down 4.9% in February. ...
Features
Keeping Layoffs to a Minimum
Wholesaler-distributors are searching far and wide for ways to cut costs without cutting people. Here is a look at how some distributors have approached the process.
 
When business began to soften in November for W.P. & R.S. Mars Co., Bloomington, MN, the industrial distributor began preparing for a rough 2009. Then sales plummeted in January, and executives in the company knew some serious decisions had to be made.
 
The management team was pulled together to brainstorm ways to reduce expenses that wouldn't involve layoffs. Our employees are so important to us that we wanted to make cuts in every area before we considered reducing our staff, says controller Beth Ahrens.
 
A desire to avoid layoffs is common among ...
Free
Commentary: Now is the Time to Act
The past few weeks, with a few economic indicators going up here and there, have given many distributors a glimmer of hope that we might be near the trough of the business cycle.
 
For distribution executives, this is the toughest part of the cycle. The difficult decisions made on the way down are not easy, but the bottom line often does the deciding; conserving cash is king. Few distributors and manufacturers have avoided layoffs; indeed some have cut their work force for the first time in decades.
 
It's always possible to be too conservative, but this downturn has redefined what that means. Markets are volatile. A day of strong orders is followed by a day when phones are quiet. It's impossible to forecast effectively to start the rebuilding process. ...
Economic Trends
Inflation by Commodity Group: First Quarter 2009
These select product groups provide a snapshot of inflation trends based on the Producer Price Index from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. First quarter 2009 is compared with first quarter 2008, first quarter 2009 with fourth quarter 2008.
 
The product groups in this report:
 
Abrasives
Adhesives & Sealants
Cutting Tools & Accessories
Hand & Edge Tools
Fasteners
Power-Driven Hand Tools
Ball & Roller Bearings
Mechanical Power Transmission Equipment
Valves, Except Fluid Power
Pumps, Compressors & Equipment
Electrical Machinery/Equipment
Industrial Material Handling Equipment
Industrial Gases
Welding Machinery/Equipment
Fluid Power Equipment
Plumbing Fixtures & Fittings
Hardware
Sanitary ...
Technology
Pushing Ahead With a Warehouse Management System
In a survey for our recent special report, "The State of the Distribution Software Industry," available here, we found that many distributors are continuing to invest in warehouse and inventory management software applications. Particularly now, when efficiency and cost reduction is key, distributors are growing smarter about where they invest to ensure they get a sufficient ROI in a time when ROI is an absolute must.

A recent article in Supply and Demand Chain Executive (sdcexec.com) looked at plumbing, HVAC and PVF distributor Bardon Supplies Limited's decision to move forward with a WMS implementation in 2007; the new warehouse management system was finally in place earlier this year at one of the ...
Economic Trends
Slightly Down is the New Up
The Industrial Supply Association Conference & Trade Fair took place earlier this week. I moderated a panel session, The View from Wall Street on Industrial Markets, with Walter Liptak, security analyst for Barrington Research Associates, Chicago, IL, and Holden Lewis, Industrial Equipment Analyst for BB&T Capital Markets Equity Research, Richmond, VA. They gave the industry insiders in that room (standing room only) a view from the investment side on strengths, weaknesses and trends.
Sometimes the truth hurts, and their analysis of a range of macro trends, end-use markets and outlook for the near-term was not pretty. That said, some of the data gave a glimmer of hope on top of the recent positive signs that we could near the bottom of this cycle and see a ...
Subscriber Only
Chicago Fed National Activity Index Edges Down in March
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index was -2.96 in March, down slightly from -2.82 in February. All four broad categories of indicators continued to make negative contributions to the index in March.
 
The three-month moving average, CFNAI-MA3, increased to -3.27 in March from -3.57 in the previous month. March's CFNAI-MA3 suggests that growth in national economic activity was well below its historical trend. With regard to inflation, it indicates little inflationary pressure from economic activity over the coming year.
 
Employment-related indicators made a large negative contribution of -1.27 to the index in March after contributing -1.29 in the previous month. Total nonfarm payroll employment declined 663,000 in March, after decreasing 651,000 in February; ...
Subscriber Only
Striking a Balance Between Long- and Short-Term Plans
Current economic conditions have impacted the way businesses think about doing business, according to a recent article and survey found in The McKinsey Quarterly.
 
The article, Strategic planning: Three tips for 2009," warns businesses against abandoning strategic planning for survival mode, because eventually the crisis will end.
 
Focusing solely on the recession is a mistake for two reasons, according to the piece:
 
First, market trends are already established, and managers and executives should continue to focus on those for long-term business planning.
 
Second, fixation on the economy itself creates tunnel vision that could ...
Top Distributor Sectors
March Housing Starts Fall 10.8% From February
Privately-owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 510,000, 10.8% below the revised February estimate of 572,000 and 48.4% below the March 2008 rate of 988,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
 
Single-family housing starts in March were at a rate of 358,000; this is unchanged from February. The March rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 116,000.
 
By region, housing starts in the Northeast were down 41.7% from March 2008; in the Midwest, they were down 24.4%. Starts dropped 48% in the South, and the West experienced a decrease of 67.3%.
 
Permits
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in March were at a seasonally ...
Subscriber Only
Canadian Manufacturing Sales Up 2.2% in February
Canadian manufacturing sales increased 2.2% to $42.9 billion in February, the first increase since July 2008, according to Statistics Canada. Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts industries in Ontario were behind most of the gains in February, following widespread slowdowns and shutdowns in January.


Excluding motor vehicles and parts and accessories, manufacturing sales edged down 0.2%, the seventh monthly decline in a row.

Constant dollar manufacturing sales, which are measured in 2002 prices, rose 2.6% to $39.4 billion in February. This was the first increase in constant dollar sales since September 2008.

At the industry level, sales in 9 of 21 manufacturing industries increased ...
Economic Trends
Industrial Production Falls 1.5% in March
Industrial production fell 1.5 percent in March after a similar decrease in February. For the first quarter as a whole, output dropped at an annual rate of 20.0 percent, the largest quarterly decrease of the current contraction. At 97.4 percent of its 2002 average, output in March fell to its lowest level since December 1998 and was nearly 13 percent below its year-earlier level.
 
Production in manufacturing moved down 1.7 percent in March and has registered five consecutive quarterly decreases. Broad-based declines in production continued; one exception was the output of motor vehicles and parts, which advanced slightly in March but remained well below its year-earlier level.
 
Outside of manufacturing, the output of mines fell 3.2 ...
Economic Trends
Latest Beige Book Shows Some Signs of Stability

While the latest Beige Book reports from the Federal Reserve Banks indicate that the economy remained weak or contracted further before April 6, five of the 12 Districts noted that the pace of decline was moderating. Several Districts reported signs that activity in some sectors was stabilizing.
 
The report is a compilation of conditions across all 12 Federal Reserve Districts in the U.S.
Here's an overview of the report:
 
Manufacturing activity weakened across a broad range of industries in most Districts, with only a few exceptions. Cleveland noted some leveling off, and the New York and Dallas Districts reported demand was beginning to bottom out following steep declines.
 
Residential real estate markets continued to be weak. Home ...
Sales & Marketing
Green Opportunities in the Stimulus Package
The stimulus package passed in February is about more than just shoring up business-as-usual organizations, says Pembroke Consulting's Adam Fein. Fein identified more than $15 billion that has been allocated to enhance or create green projects on the state and federal level - a significant increase over previous funding. For example, state energy programs will receive $3.1 billion dollars - a funding jump of 70% over 2008.
 
This new funding can be a boon for distributors, particularly those that service the electrical and homebuilding/renovation sectors. Money will flow into projects for weatherization - anything from rewiring to insulation - and for improving the smart grid.
 
States and municipalities are still trying ...
Economic Trends
MAPI Report: Recovery May Start In Late 2009
While the global economic picture will remain troubled for the near term, slightly improved U.S. economic data could be a harbinger of positive signals for a grim world landscape, according to a new report.

In the MAPI Quarterly Forecast of U.S. Exports, Global Growth, and the Dollar: Second Quarter 2009 Through Fourth Quarter 2010, economist Cliff Waldman writes that signs of firming demand in the U.S. economy, along with a global move toward historically accommodative monetary policies, suggests that a weak rebound in industrialized country output and a modest acceleration of developing country output could begin in the later months of 2009.

While the rare financial underpinnings of the current global crisis make it more difficult than ever to assess the impact ...
Economic Trends
February Machine Tool Consumption Climbs from January
February U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $129.65 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 28.5% from January but down 62.4% from the total of $345.04 million reported for February 2008.  With a year-to-date total of $230.53 million, 2009 is down 66.2% compared with 2008.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program.

The February orders confirm the extremely difficult environment our small but vital manufacturing technology suppliers face, said Ronald F. ...
Subscriber Only
The Challenges in Downsizing

Distributors across many sectors face a decision many never faced before: whether to implement layoffs. This article offers insight from two distributors on deciding who, when and how, as well as expert opinion on best practices in this difficult time.

Business is off about 40 percent from a year ago for one industrial distributor in the Midwest. As a result, for the first time in 22 years, the owner has had to lay off roughly a fifth of his small staff. It was one of the worst days of my life, he says.

The fear in employees' eyes as they walked to the conference room the day the layoffs were announced was palpable, he says. The process has taken an emotional toll on him and the remaining workers. For many distributors, a dramatic drop in demand in the ...

Subscriber Only
Opportunities for Distributors in the Stimulus Package
The negative perception some have of the stimulus package may be grounded in part in truth, says Adam Fein of Pembroke Consulting. But there are positives to be found in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Fein presented his review of the opportunities and impacts of the bill for distributors in a recent MDM Webcast.
While the economic stimulus package may not be perfect, Adam Fein saw a potentially damaging level of pessimism in some of the responses to a survey conducted the week the bill passed. About one-fifth of executives indicated they would decrease their focus on growth initiatives because of the stimulus bill, Fein says.
Fein recommends distributors turn their heads from the bad, and instead consider areas where they can benefit from new ...
Subscriber Only
Monthly Wholesale Trade: February 2009
February 2009 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers' sales branches and offices, were $319.7 billion, up 0.6 percent from January and down 14.3 percent from February 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. February sales of durable goods were up 2.0 percent from last month, but were down 14.8 percent from a year ago. Compared to last month, sales of motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies were up 3.7 percent, while sales of metals and minerals, except petroleum, were down 5.6 percent. Sales of nondurable goods were down 0.4 percent from last month and were down 13.8 percent from last year. Sales of chemicals and allied products were down 4.6 percent from last month.
 
Inventories. Total inventories of merchant wholesalers were $419.3 ...

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