ElectroIndustry Sales Projection

Last month we surveyed the industry about its outlook, and challenges, for 2008. Over 400 people responded!

Over the next month or so we’ll be sharing some of the results, but to get the year started we wanted to share sales expectations.

We asked the question by audience (rep, manufacturer, distributor) and be various market segments. The feedback was:

Interestingly, manufacturers were more optimistic than distributors and reps, overall, were the most optimistic (although this probably reflects local conditions).

In speaking with a few manufacturers over the past couple of days, 2 lighting companies and a fastener company, mentioned that they were projecting 8-12% increases for themselves with growth coming 1) from price increases (3-4%), 2) new products and 3) focusing / targeting specific niches.

The data tracks well with other industry projections that we have heard. Reportedly IMARK distributors and manufacturers predicted 4% and 5% respectively in an annual IMARK survey; DISC Corp has projected low single digits and Electrical Wholesaling projected about 4-6%.

Hope the input helps. Look for more survey results in the coming weeks, and let us know what is happening in your market. Within every market there is opportunity for a limited number of distributors to grow. Being proactive creates the opportunity to take share and turn nominal expectations into a successful year.