The Power Transmission Distributors Association released this week year-end sales data for distributors and manufacturers of power transmission/motion control products, reporting that distributors and manufacturers in North America experienced overall growth in sales in 2007.
The report shows confidence in the market has eroded slightly, holding a current neutral position between 5.0 and 5.8 versus a range of 5.1 to 6.6, on a 10-point scale where 10 is high, at year-end 2006. And while still in the positive, growth in sales of PT/MC products is definitely slowing. Following three years of double-digit growth, U.S. distributors’ saw a 6.8% increase in PT/MC product sales in 2007. The annualized sales-to-inventory ratio for 2007 was up to 7.6, compared to 7.3 in 2006.
Canadian distributors also continued to experience growth in PT/MC sales, again at a slower rate than in the previous three years. Distributors of PT/MC products in Canada ended 2007 with an increase in sales of 1.7%. The annualized sales-to-inventory ratio for Canadian distributors showed a slight decline from 7.1 in 2006 to 6.4 in 2007.
U.S. manufacturers of PT/MC products experienced year-to-date sales growth of 3.7% versus a more robust growth rate of 7.1% in 2006. The same trend holds true for year-to-date orders of PT/MC products for U.S. manufacturers, gaining 1.1% in 2007 as compared to 3.8% in 2006. The annualized sales-to-inventory ratio increased to 10.0 at year-end 2007 from 9.0 in 2006.
Canadian manufacturers’ sales remained relatively flat in 2007, with a change in sales of less than 1%. Year-to-date sales of PT/MC products by Canadian manufacturers in 2007 increased 0.2% versus a 0.5 decline in 2006. The annualized sales-to-inventory ratio decreased to 6.9 for Canadian manufacturers, compared to 7.4 at the end of 2006.
In considering sales growth on a product-by-product basis for 2007, product categories for U.S. manufacturers showed an overall growth in sales, with only two product categories experiencing sales declines %%MDASSML%% variable speed drives and positioning systems/linear motion products. Canadian manufacturers, on the other hand, showed an overall reduction in sales with only three product categories showing sales growth %%MDASSML%% unmounted bearings, clutches and brakes and standard industrial motors.
Year-end data for 2006 and 2007 is available in a complete report, which PTDA members can download at no charge through the PTDA Website at www.ptda.org/MOR . Non-members can purchase the year-end data online at www.ptda.org/store .