PT sales flat through April
By Industrial Distribution Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 8/1/1999
SALES WERE VIRTUALLY FLAT FOR POWER TRANSMISSION DISTRIBUTORS in the first four months of 1999. That's according to an April Market Outlook Report by the Power Transmission Distributors Assn.For United States distributors, year-to-date sales through April were up just .3 percent compared to the same period in 1998. April sales were down 4.2 percent as compared to March and up one percent over April 1998 sales.
The Market Outlook Report shows that sales increased for Canadian distributors, with year-to-date sales through April up 11.8 percent. Canadian distributors also saw a sales increase of 6.2 percent over March and 21.6 percent over April 1998 figures.
Some U.S. distributors say the figures point to a slowdown in the PT sector. However, they say it's important to note that the report offers a glimpse of the "big picture" and that conditions vary from region to region.
"There is not a ton of growth," in the market, says Scott Baum, vice president of PTDA member State Electric in St. Louis, which saw sales rise 10 percent through May. "Our growth is coming from taking business from our competitors."
Baum also attributes the growth to State Electric's diverse customer base, most of whom are MRO accounts, and to its investment in services. The company has an electric motor repair shop, an electronics repair shop and builds custom control panels, as well.
"That makes a huge difference," says Baum. "The good thing for us is, if something slips, hopefully something else is going to bullet back up."
David Miller, operations manager for the Bush-Miller division of Motion Industries in Lancaster, Pa., says economic conditions have been stable in his part of the country. He notes that the power transmission industry -- at least in his region -- does not have the cyclical problems that characterize other industries.
While some years have been slower than others, Miller says Bush-Miller hasn't seen a major downturn in its 50-year history. His outlook is for a stable 1999, though he notes the changing nature of U.S. industry will have an effect on PT distributors across the country, if it hasn't already.
"I think as our nation becomes more service-oriented and less manufacturing oriented," says Miller, "our industry is, by the nature of the [customers] we serve, not going to have the growth potential we would like to see."
That's why the larger PT distributors are focusing on servicing more and larger accounts and diversifying their product lines, Miller notes.
"To grow, you have to stay on the cutting edge of the new technologies and have the products available so that when the customer wants to buy a range of products from you, you can say yes to something like that," says Miller, who sold his firm to PT giant Motion Industries in January.
The Market Outlook Report's confidence index for April registered "6" for both U.S. and Canadian distributors. The index measures confidence on a scale of one (very pessimistic) to 10 (outstanding).
"I think it's slowing down a little bit," notes Baum. "But I'm hoping to end up six to eight percent ahead."
PTDA's Market Outlook Report is published monthly and surveys U.S. and Canadian distributors and manufacturers. April was the most recent period for which figures were available at press time.
Talkback
Related Content
Related Content
Sponsored Links
View All Blogs
