Good news. After a few dismal years for electrical distributors, current Electrical Wholesaling sales forecasts paint a kinder picture.
Full-line electrical distributors responding to Electrical Wholesaling’s recent annual Market Planning Guide (MPG) survey forecast a 10.6 percent increase in sales this year and a 7.1 percent increase for 2005.
Interestingly, the MPG’s 2004 forecasted increase of 10.6 percent is nearly identical (10.7 percent) to the 2004 forecast obtained earlier this year from respondents to Electrical Wholesaling’s Top 200 survey. A 10.6 percent increase for 2004, up 5.4 percentage points from last year’s MPG 2004 forecast of 5.2 percent, puts 2004 sales at an estimated $83.5 billion.
Electrical distributors reported sales through mid-year 2004 up 11.6 percent compared to the same period in 2003. Still, one must wonder how much of this year’s sales burst is attributed to commodity price increases.
If electrical distributors attain the 7.1 percent increase projected for next year, total U.S. sales through electrical distributors will reach $89.4 million in 2005.
Respondents to the survey reported an average sales-per-employee number of $394,892 for 2003. Contrast that number with $469,536, the 2003 Top 200 average-sales-per employee number.