NORTH AMERICAN NEWS
by John Wolz, editor
GlobalFastenerNews.com
U.S. fastener exports rise in August
After dropping in July U.S. fastener exports in August rose 8% month-over-month to US$287.5 million, Zepol reports.
T
he top five consumers of U.S. fasteners during the month were Canada (US$91.16m), Mexico (US$90.13m), UK (US$12.42m), China (US$9.26m) and Singapore (US$7.99m). Meanwhile fastener imports to the U.S. decreased 3% to
US$407 million in August after climbing 7% the previous month. The top five countries importing fasteners to the U.S. were Taiwan
(US$125.2m), China (US$88.8m), Japan (US$64.4m), Germany (US$26m) and Canada (US$20.4m). In July U.S. fastener imports increased 7% month-over-month to
US$418.9 million, while fastener exports dipped 8% to US$265.9 million. In June fastener imports to the U.S. fell 5% to US$392.4 million,
with exports down 1% to US$289.5 million. In May U.S. fastener exports jumped 15.5% to US$291.9 million,
while imports grew 15.3% to US$414.4 million. Data was derived from Zepol
’ s trade intelligence tool, TradeView™, using
U.S. import and export trade data released by the U.S. Census Bureau in the Merchandise Trade dataset. It is based on HTS Code 7318 - Screws, Bolts, Nuts, Coach Screws, Screw Hooks, Rivets, Cotters, Cotter Pins, Washers And Similar Articles, Of Iron Or Steel.
U.S. fastener distribution sales up in October
BB&TCM’s Fastener Distribution Index (FDI) fell to 46.8 in October, down from the 48.2 recorded in September.
“A
s in September, technically fastener distributors saw conditions worsen in October. But ... we think the details offer a better picture.” Most notably, the sales component improved, posting its second highest reading of the last five months. October’s sales index rose to 48.6
compared with 45.7 in September. Customer inventories fell to 38.6 from 45.7 the previous month. “This is not good,
of course, but to the extent customers are culling inventories it sets the table for purchasing to improve once that process is complete.” The six month outlook rose slightly, with 34% of respondents anticipating higher
activity in the near future, compared with 31% in September. “Where there was a change was that respondents fled from the camp expecting
lower results (14% vs 26% in September) to the “same” camp (51% vs 43% in September). Thus, we continue to see results signaling stabilization of demand.” For pricing, the sequential index was 50, suggesting no change from the previous
two months. Annual pricing is still higher, but at a narrowing rate that the survey suggests is in the 0.5% - 1.5% range. “On the whole, there appears to be little impetus for fresh pricing in fasteners.”
The FDI is a monthly survey of North American fastener distributors. As a diffusion index, readings above 50 signal strength and below 50 signal weakness. The FDI is a joint production of BB&T Capital Markets and the FCH Sourcing Network.
24 Fastener + Fixing Magazine • Issue 78 November 2012
August 2012 U.S. Imports Top 5 Countries Taiwan China Japan
Germany Canada
Value
US$125,220,000 US$88,780,000 US$64,450,000 US$26,020,000 US$20,430,000
August 2012 U.S. Exports Top 5 Countries Canada Mexico
United Kingdom China
Singapore Value
US$91,160,000 US$90,130,000 US$12,420,000 US$9,260,000 US$7,990,000
Manufacturer sales
rise at Fastenal Fastenal Co reported sales increased 16.9% to US$288.5 million in October, driven by a 9.1% rise in manufacturing customer sales. Non-residential construction customer sales grew 0.9%.
D
aily sales gained 6.8% to US$12.5 million, despite the effects of Hurricane Sandy, which the company estimates lowered its
daily sales growth by 1.5 percentage points. Fastenal opened no new stores during
the month, reflecting in part its strategic shift toward its vending machine program to drive growth. Overall employee headcount increased
2.4% to 15,451 workers during October. That figure included an 11% increase in non-store selling personnel, a 6% increase of its in-store salesforce, a 6% increase in distribution personnel and a 4.7% rise in its manufacturing workforce.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156