Correction On The Differences Between DISC And EW Sales Forecasts

The introduction to Electrical Wholesaling’s Market Planning Guide (November, 2007, p. 26) contained an error on the methodology used by DISC Corp., Orange, Conn., in its annual sales forecasts. The article incorrectly stated that DISC reports its sales forecasts in deflated dollars, when in fact its sales forecasts have always used current dollar sales and do contain inflation. The DISC numbers are in the same measurements as the EW numbers (inflated dollars), but not the same growth rates. The difference in growth rates is not because of inflation but because EW does a survey of what distributors think will happen, while DISC develops its forecast by analyzing performance of the economic indicators that directly impact electrical distributor industry sales. DISC evaluates each major segment/customer type separately.

As a basis for sales forecasts, EW and DISC both begin projections with the Census Bureau’s Census of Wholesale Trade, which is conducted every five years, but the methodologies diverge there. DISC updates the census numbers based on economic models and economic indicators. EW forecasts are based upon consensus predictions of electrical distributors via its annual MPG survey.