Distributor News

Grainger, Chicago, IL, reported daily sales for May increased 1 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Results for the month included a 4 percentage point contribution from Cromwell Group (Holdings) Ltd, acquired Sept. 1. U.S. segment sales were down 3 percent year-over-year. More

UK-based Wolseley plc reported third quarter sales of £3.7 billion (US$5.3 billion), up 10.8 percent. On a like-for-like basis, sales were up 2.8 percent. Fiscal year-to-date sales were £10.5 billion (US$9.8 billion), up 7.2 percent year-over-year. Trading profit increased 10 percent to £640 million (US$922.4 million). More

Plumbing distributor Ferguson Enterprises Inc., Newport News, VA, has acquired Bruce-Rogers Company, Fort Smith, AR. More

Airgas Inc., Radnor, PA, an Air Liquide company, has acquired Monroe Welding Supply Inc., Monroe, LA, and Clark Industrial Supply Inc., San Jose, CA. More

France-based electrical distributor Sonepar has agreed to acquire Belgium-based electrical wholesaler Cheyns NV. More

Applied Industrial Technologies, Cleveland, OH, has acquired Canada-based Seals Unlimited, a distributor of sealing, fastener and hose products. More

U.S. LBM Holdings LLC, Green Bay, WI, has acquired Raymond Building Supply, North Fort Myers, FL. More

ABC Supply Co. Inc., Beloit, WI, has acquired GK Building Supply Corp., Port Chester, NY, a distributor of roofing, gutter and siding products. More

Beacon Roofing Supply Inc., Herndon, VA, has acquired Woodfeathers Inc., a Portland, OR-based distributor of primarily residential roofing and related products. More

Border States Electric, Fargo, ND, has agreed to acquire Shealy Electrical Wholesalers, based in North and South Carolina. More

Distribution International Inc., Houston, TX, has acquired certain assets of Johnson Insulation LLC, Spokane, WA. More

RelaDyne, Cincinnati, OH, has acquired the lubricants division of Hollingsworth Oil Company. More

Ritz Safety LLC, Dayton, Ohio, has acquired Slate Rock Safety LLC, Medina, OH, an e-commerce retailer and distributor of flame resistant work apparel and other personal protective equipment. More

Fastenal Co., Winona, MN, reported sales for May of $333.7 million, a 6.2 percent increase year-over-year. Daily sales increased 1.1 percent to an average of $15.9 million. More

HD Supply Holdings Inc., Atlanta, GA, reported sales for the fiscal first quarter ended May 1 of $1.8 billion, an increase of 7.3 percent year-over-year. The company reported a loss for the quarter of $14 million, compared to a profit of $242 million in the first quarter the previous year. First-quarter sales for facilities maintenance were up 6.6 percent year-over-year to $677 million, Waterworks sales were up 6.1 percent to $605 million and White Cap sales increased 9.8 percent to $477 million. More

Irby Co.,a Jackson, MS-based subsidiary of Sonepar USA, has named Mike Leech as president, following the announcement of Mike Wigton’s retirement. More

Economic News

April U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $284.1 million according to AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total was down 25.5 percent from March and down 27.5 percent from April 2015. Year-to-date, total orders were $1,230.9 million, down 16.6 percent compared to the same point in 2015. More

April U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $173.6 million, according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute and AMT – the Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total was down 5.7 percent from March’s total and down 15 percent from April 2015. With a year-to-date total of $689.8 million, 2016 was down 10.3 percent when compared with 2015. More

The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.4 percent in May, seasonally adjusted, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. More

The May PMI was 51.3 percent, an increase of 0.5 percentage point from the April reading, according to the latest ISM Manufacturing Report on Business. The New Orders Indexregistered 55.7 percent, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the April reading of 55.8 percent. More

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index declined in May to 92.6, down from 94.7 in April. More

Industrial production in the U.S. decreased 0.4 percent in May after increasing 0.6 percent in April, according to the Federal Reserve. Capacity utilization fell 0.4 percent to 74.9 percent. More

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose 0.2 points in May to 93.8. Four of the 10 Index components posted a gain, four declined and two were unchanged. More

April construction spending was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,133.9 billion, 1.8 percent below the revised March estimate of $1,155.1 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The April figure is 4.5 percent above the April 2015 estimate of $1,085 billion. More

New orders for manufactured durable goods in April increased 3.4 percent to $235.9 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.4 percent. Excluding defense, new orders increased 3.7 percent. More

Total April exports were $182.8 billion and imports were $220.2 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce. This resulted in a goods and services deficit of $37.4 billion, up $1.9 billion from March. April exports were up $2.6 billion from March, and April imports were up $4.5 billion. More

Canadian residential construction investment totaled C$26.1 billion (US$20 billion) in the first quarter, up 2.1 percent from the same quarter in 2015. The increase came from all components, except acquisition costs related to new dwelling units and semi-detached dwellings. Higher investment in apartment and apartment-condominium building construction (up 21.2 percent) was responsible for much of the advance at the national level. More

Canadian investment in new housing construction increased 8.4 percent to C$4.2 billion (US$3.3 billion) in April compared with the same month in 2015, according to Statistics Canada. Nationally, the increase was driven by higher investment in apartment and apartment-condominium buildings, which rose 20.8 percent. More

Canadian manufacturing sales rose 1 percent to C$50.4 billion (US$39 billion) in April, mainly reflecting higher sales in the petroleum and coal product, transportation equipment, and primary metal industries, according to Statistics Canada. Sales increased in 10 of 21 industries, representing 55 percent of Canadian manufacturing sales. More

The value of Canadian building permits issued by municipalities decreased 0.3 percent to C$6.9 billion (US$5.4 billion) in April, marking the second consecutive monthly decline, according to Statistics Canada. The decrease was largely the result of lower construction intentions in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. More

Canada’s industrial product price index declined 0.5 percent in April, according to Statistics Canada. The decline was led by lower prices for motorized and recreational vehicles, while higher prices for energy and petroleum products helped moderate the fall. The Raw Materials Price Index increased 0.7 percent, led by higher prices for crude energy products. More

Canadian industries increased their production capacity by 0.5 percentage points in the first quarter to 81.4 percent, according to Statistics Canada. The mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction industries were the main source of this increase. More

In April 2016, compared with March 2016, European industrial producer prices fell by 0.3 percent in the euro area (EA19) and by 0.2 percent in the EU28, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In March 2016 prices rose by 0.3 percent in the euro area and by 0.4 percent in the EU28. In April 2016, compared with April 2015, industrial producer prices fell 4.4 percent in the euro area and by 4.2 percent in the EU28. More

European seasonally adjusted industrial production rose by 1.1 percent in April in the euro area (EA19) and by 1.3 percent in the EU28, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In March 2016 industrial production fell by 0.7 percent in the euro area and by 0.5 percent in the EU28. In April 2016 compared with April 2015, industrial production increased by 2 percent in the euro area and by 2.5 percent in the EU28. More

Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International reported a 2.9 percent sales increase for April. The annualized growth through April was 5.8 percent. More

The Power Transmission Distributors Association Business Index reading for the first quarter was 50.8, up from the 4Q2015 reading of 35.7, indicating significant growth. More

The ISA Distributor Index decreased to 66.9 in May from 57.5 in April, while the Manufacturer Index increased to 56.8 from 55.5, indicating accelerating activity for both groups. More

Manufacturer News

H.B. Fuller Co., St. Paul, MN, has agreed to acquire Cyberbond LLC, Batavia, IL. More

Atlas Copco, Stockholm, Sweden, has agreed to acquire South Korea-based CSK Inc. More

Atlas Copco has agreed to acquire Bondtech, a Swedish supplier of dispensing equipment for adhesives and sealants. More

Atlas Copco has agreed to acquire Germany-based Schneider Druckluft GmbH. More

Swedish bearing manufacturer SKF will consolidate its North American manufacturing facilities, closing sites in San Diego, CA, and Baltimore, MD. More

SureWerx (formerly JET Group), Vancouver, Canada, has acquired KP Industries, Old Mission, MI. More

Garlock, Palmyra, NY, has acquired Rubber Fab Gasket & Molding Inc., Sparta, NJ, through its parent company EnPro Industries. More

Carlisle Cos. Inc., Charlotte, NC, has acquired Micro-Coax Inc., Pottstown, PA. More

Belgian polymers manufacturer HEXPOL has acquired the Berwin Group Ltd., a UK-based rubber compounder. More

A subsidiary of IES Holdings Inc., Houston, TX, has agreed to acquire Technibus Inc., Canton, OH, for $45 million. More

A subsidiary of Universal Forest Products Inc., Grand Rapids, MI, has agreed to acquire Idaho Western Inc., Nampa, ID. More

Rochester Midland Corp., Rochester, NY, has agreed to sell its feminine care, toilet seat cover and food service paper business to Impact Products. More

Cemtrex Inc., Farmingdale, NY, completed the previously announced acquisition of German electronics manufacturing company Periscope. More

RBC Bearings Inc., Oxford, CT, reported sales for fiscal 2016 of $597.5 million, up 34.2 percent year-over-year. Profit increased 9.7 percent to $63.9 million. For the fourth quarter, sales were $162.3 million, an increase of 43.1 percent from the previous year. Profit for the quarter increased 26.8 percent to $18.9 million. More

Columbus McKinnon Corp., Amherst, NY, reported sales for the fiscal year ended March 31 of $597.3 million, up 3 percent from the prior year. U.S. sales increased 11.4 percent. Profit decreased 28 percent to $19.6 million. For the fourth quarter, sales were $155.1 million, up 4.1 percent from the prior-year period. U.S. sales were up 17.1 percent. Profit increased 194.9 percent to $5.9 million. More

Webco Industries Inc., Sand Springs, OK, reported sales for the fiscal third quarter of $78.5 million, a 23.8 percent decrease year-over-year. The company reported a loss of $0.2 million, down from a profit of $0.5 million the same period a year ago. Sales for the first nine months of the fiscal year were $246.3 million, a 21.8 percent decrease over the same period a year ago. The company reported a loss of $2.3 million for the period, compared to a loss of $0.2 million the prior year. More

Switzerland-based power and automation company ABB has appointed Sami Atiya to president of the discrete automation and motion division, as well as to the executive committee. More

ABB has appointed Doug Schuster as global leader of Thomas & Betts, Memphis, TN. More

Schneider Packaging Equipment Co., Brewerton, NY, has promoted Bob Brotzki to chief operating officer. More