The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said the goods and services deficit was $89.7 billion in January, up $7.7 billion from $82.0 billion in December, revised. January exports were $224.4 billion, $3.9 billion less than December exports; January imports were $314.1 billion, $3.8 billion more than December imports, according to […]
Category: Economic Trends
February FDI Recovers ‘Nicely’
The February Fastener Distributor Index “recovered nicely,” rebounding to 56.0 following a seasonal-adjustment-driven downtick in January (52.7), according to the latest analysis from Baird, FCH Sourcing Network and the Institute for Supply Management. The recovery was “broadly consistent” with recovery seen in the ISM PMI and other macroeconomic data points as COVID-related disruption eased, according […]
Real GDP Increased 7% in 4Q
Real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 7% in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the “second” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 2.3%. The GDP estimate released Thursday is based on more complete source data than were available for the “advance” […]
January Materials Prices Jump 20%
Prices of construction materials rose more than 20% from January 2021 to January 2022, according to an Associated General Contractors of America analysis of government data. “Unfortunately, there has been no letup early this year in the extreme cost runup that contractors endured in 2021,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “They are apparently […]
New Residential Construction Up in January
Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,899,000, 0.75 above the revised December rate of 1,885,000 and 0.8% above the January 2021 rate of 1,883,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Single‐family authorizations in January were at a rate of 1,205,000, 6.8% above the revised […]
Trade Sales and Manufacturers’ Shipments Drop in December
The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for December 2021 — adjusted for seasonal and trading day differences but not for price changes — was estimated at $1,717.2 billion, down 0.7% from November, but was up 15.9% from December 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Manufacturers’ and trade inventories for December […]
Advance Retail, Food Services Sales Rise in January
The U.S. Census Bureau said advance estimates of retail and food services sales for January — adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences but not for price changes — were $649.8 billion, an increase of 3.8% from the previous month and 13% above January 2021. Total sales for the November 2021 through January […]
Wholesale Inflation Up 9.7% in January
January wholesale inflation was 9.7% higher than the same period a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s producer price index. The PPI, a metric that measures inflation before it reaches consumers, rose 1% in January compared to the previous month. The January increase follows jumps of 0.4% in December 2021 and 0.9% […]
Wholesale Trade Has Record Year: $7.1 Trillion in Sales, 22% Above 2020
Wholesale trade experienced more than $7.1 trillion in sales in 2021, a greater than 22% increase over 2020 when the industry recorded just over $5.8 trillion in revenues, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday. It was a record year for the industry, also besting the last pre-pandemic year of 2019, which saw roughly $6.1 trillion […]
Wholesale Trade’s Record Year: Sales Increase 22% to $7.1 Trillion
Wholesale trade experienced more than $7.1 trillion in sales in 2021, a greater than 22% increase over 2020 when the industry recorded just over $5.8 trillion in revenues, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday. It was a record year for the industry, also besting the last pre-pandemic year of 2019, which saw roughly $6.1 trillion […]
BLS: Inflation Reaches 40-Year High
U.S. inflation jumped 7.5% over the past year, the highest rate of increase in four decades, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.6% in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, BLS said Thursday. Increases in the indexes for food, electricity and shelter were the largest […]
NAHB: Soaring Costs Lower Housing Affordability
Rising construction costs have dropped housing affordability to its lowest level in a decade, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index released this week. Just over 54% of new and existing homes sold between October and December were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $79,900, NAHB said. […]
FDI ‘Slightly Softer’ in January
The seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index for January was “slightly softer” at 52.7, but modest underlying improvement was seen in most metrics, according to the latest analysis from Baird, FCH Sourcing Network and the Institute for Supply Management. The seasonal adjustment factor downwardly impacted results as January is “normally the strongest month of the year […]
Goods and Services Deficit Rises in December
The goods and services deficit was $80.7 billion in December, up $1.4 billion from $79.3 billion in November, revised, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. December exports were $228.1 billion, $3.4 billion more than November exports. December imports were $308.9 billion, $4.8 billion more than November imports. The […]
Job Market Surges in January
The U.S. economy created 467,000 jobs in January, according to new Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates, beating economists’ expectations. Employers added 647,000 jobs in November, topping the 249,000 the Labor Department had estimated; employers also added 510,000 jobs in December, ahead of the 199,000 initially forecast. This means heading into 2022, more than 700,000 jobs […]
AD Member Sales Rise 30%
Independent distributor organization AD reported 2021 member sales were $58.5 billion, a 30% increase from 2020, with purchases by member companies from AD supplier partners up 39% to $16.6 billion. AD also achieved a 49% increase in net distributions to its members, surpassing the $1 billion milestone for the first time in the group’s four-decade-long […]
Construction Spending Rises in December
U.S. construction spending increased overall in December, though spending was down monthly in nearly a dozen nonresidential subcategories, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and a data analysis from Associated Builders and Contractors. Construction spending during December 2021 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,639.9 billion, 0.2% above the revised November estimate […]
ABC: Decline in Structure Investments Continues
An Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows investment in nonresidential structures decreased at an annual rate of 11.4% in the fourth quarter of 2021 has now contracted in eight of the past nine quarters. The continued slowdown juxtaposed BEA’s announcement stating the U.S. economy grew at […]
GDP Sees Year-End Uptick
The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 6.9% in the fourth quarter of 2021, following an increase of 2.3% in the third quarter. The fourth-quarter acceleration was led by an upturn in exports, as well as accelerations in inventory investment and consumer spending, the BEA […]
Momentum, Lingering Headwinds Mark 2022 Distribution Outlook
U.S. distributors recorded a record year in 2021 for revenues while protecting margins — in spite of continued pandemic and supply chain pressures in the back half of 2021. And the outlook for 2022 is positive as economic and market indicators point to “new-normal” disruptors stabilizing. Those are a few of the takeaways from the […]
