PT/MC Sales Growth dips for 2008

In releasing 2008year-end sales data for distributors and manufacturers of powertransmission/motion control (PT/MC) products, the Power TransmissionDistributors Association (PTDA) reported that U.S. distributors andmanufacturers experienced overall growth in sales in 2008 while theirCanadian counterparts experienced a decline in sales. Confidence in the market (as measured on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10being most optimistic) has eroded overall, holding a current neutralposition between 4.6 and 5.2 versus a range of 5.0 to 5.8 at year-end2007.

Growth in sales of PT/MC productsis definitely slowing.  Following a moderate growth rate of6.6 percent in 2007, U.S. distributors saw a 4.3 percent increase inPT/MC product sales in 2008.  The annualizedsales-to-inventory ratio for 2008 was at 6.5, compared to 7.6 in 2007.

Canadiandistributors ended the year with a drop in sales, the first loss since2001.  Distributors of PT/MC products in Canada ended 2008with a decrease in sales of 0.5 percent compared to a gain of 1.3percent in 2007.  The annualized sales-to-inventory ratio forCanadian distributors showed a slight increase from 6.4 in 2007 to 6.5in 2008.

U.S. manufacturers of PT/MCproducts experienced year-to-date sales growth of 3.8 percent in 2008,off slightly from the 4.1 percent growth rate posted for2007.  Year-to-date orders of PT/MC products for U.S.manufacturers, however, were down 2.2 percent in 2008 versus 1.0percent growth for 2007.  The annualized sales-to-inventoryratio dropped slightly from 10.0 at year-end 2007 to 9.7 at year-end2008.

Canadian manufacturers’sales suffered in 2008, with a decrease in sales of 7.4 percent for2008 following relatively flat results in 2007.  Theannualized sales-to-inventory ratio remained steady at 7.0 at the endof 2008.  

In considering salesgrowth on a product-by-product basis for 2008, product categories forU.S. manufacturers showed an overall growth in sales with only twoproduct categories experiencing sales declines – mountedbearings and positioning systems/linear motion products. Canadian manufacturers, on the other hand, showed an overall reductionin sales with only three product categories showing sales growth– variable speed drives, clutches & brakes and shaftcouplings.