Latest from Mag

Plenty of executive appointments over the past two weeks. Here’s Electrical Marketing’s expanded coverage of personnel changes in the electrical market.
Dec. 21, 2012
Wire man John Pasqual and lighting rep Jack Melnick
Dec. 21, 2012
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Electrical product prices remained on their flat trend, showing no change from October and little change in almost all major product categories.
Dec. 21, 2012
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Privately-owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 861,000, 3% below the revised October estimate, but 21.6% above the Nov. 2011 rate.
Dec. 21, 2012
Dec. 21, 2012
Veteran reps form new agency in Raleigh; WinWholesale buys Lloyd Graves in Texas; United Electric Supply expands through acquisition; and more.
Dec. 21, 2012
W.W. Grainger Inc., Lake Forest, Ill., announced plans to purchase Techni-Tool Inc., Worcester, Pa., a 200-plus employee distributor supplying customers in the cable television...
Dec. 21, 2012
Kaman Industrial Technologies (KIT), the industrial distribution business Kaman Corp., Bloomfield, Conn., has built up in recent acquisitions of Minarik, Zeller Electric and others...
Dec. 21, 2012
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg offered an update on the city’s plans to renovate its infrastructure to withstand future storms.
Dec. 7, 2012

Distributors’ Sales Forecasts Promise Healthier Increases, According to EW Survey

After a few dismal years for electrical distributors, current Electrical Wholesaling sales forecasts paint a kinder picture.
Nov. 19, 2004

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.