Distributor Pandemic Revenue Index Reverts to Modest Growth

The index followed a major gain by returning to the mid-single digits — it's most common range since mid-September.

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Mike Hockett/Industrial Distribution

A major gain in Indian River Consulting Group's Distributor Pandemic Index (PRI) for the first week of February brought optimism of continued strong readings, but that was quickly dashed in the newest index.

For the selling week of Feb. 8-12, the PRI showed a mark of +5.0, meaning that for the 13 distributors surveyed, their average sales were up 5.0 percent year-over-year. It followed a jump to 14.1 percent in the week prior and readings of 6.4, 3.9 and 4.6 percent in the previous three weeks, respectively.

The PRI — aimed to provide a weekly snapshot of how industrial distributors' sales have fared during the pandemic compared to a year earlier — has now been in growth territory for 13 consecutive weeks. The PRI has a reading of between 2.8 and 8.9 in 13 of the past 22 weeks.

Of the newest PRI's 13 distributors surveyed, seven reported year-over-year increases, ranging from mid-single digits to 33 percent, while six companies reported declines that ranged from 1 to 12 percent. The week prior, 11 distributors saw year-over-year gains and only two saw declines.

IRCG would like to increase the sample size for the PRI, so if you would like to include your company, reach out to Emerson at [email protected].

The chart below shows the weekly percent change in year-over-year sales, unadjusted for holiday impacts:

Ircg Pandemic Revenue Index Feb 08 12 2021

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