U.S. and Canadian manufacturers’ sales increased for the third consecutive month in March.
U.S. manufacturers posted an increase of 5.6 percent and Canadian manufacturers’ sales rose by 18.5 percent according to sales data released by the Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) in its Market Outlook Report.
For U.S. manufacturers, sales comparisons between the first quarter of 2010 and 2009 still reflect sales declines. U.S. manufacturers’ year-to-date sales are down 3.4 percent compared to sales at this time last year. Canadian manufacturers’ year-to-year sales rose by 7.7 percent for the same period.
For the third month, U.S. manufacturers’ confidence maintained a neutral position of 5.0 on a scale of 1 (very pessimistic) to 10 (outstanding). Canadian manufacturers’ maintained the position of 4.8.
Month-to-month sales for product categories between February 2010 and March 2010 for U.S. and Canadian manufacturers are reported below.
U.S. Manufacturer Percent Change in Product Sales
(February 2010 vs. March 2010)
|
Product |
Percent Change |
|
Gear Products |
-31.0% |
|
Clutches & Brakes |
-2.1% |
|
Variable Speed Drives |
1.5% |
|
Positioning Systems/Linear Motion Products |
2.9% |
|
Standard Industrial Motors |
5.7% |
|
Unmounted Bearings |
8.4% |
|
Shaft Couplings |
13.6% |
|
Mechanical Drive Systems and Other PT Products |
14.9% |
|
Mounted Bearings |
17.1% |
Canadian Manufacturer Percent Change in Product Sales
(February 2010 vs. March 2010)
|
Product |
Percent Change |
|
Positioning Systems/Linear Motion Products |
-32.1% |
|
Clutches & Brakes |
-14.7% |
|
Mounted Bearings |
7.9% |
|
Mechanical Drive Systems and Other PT Products |
8.8% |
|
Unmounted Bearings |
13.1% |
|
Gear Products |
39.6% |
|
Shaft Couplings |
89.5% |
|
Variable Speed Drives |
103.3% |
The Market Outlook Report is published monthly by the Power Transmission Distributors Association. The full report includes U.S. and Canadian manufacturer data for sales and order trends for mounted bearings, unmounted bearings, standard industrial motors (U.S. only), variable speed drives, positioning systems/linear motion products, gear products, clutches and brakes, shaft couplings and mechanical drive systems and other PT products.
Year-end data for 2008 and 2009 is available in a complete report. The monthly data is available by subscription via e-mail or mail. To purchase the year-end data or to begin a subscription to the monthly data, order online at www.ptda.org/store or call PTDA at (312) 516-2100. PTDA members may download the report at no charge through the PTDA Web site at www.ptda.org/MOR.