October finally reversed a seven-month decline in the annual distributor growth rate, perhaps signaling a positive turn in the business cycle. HARDI’s Monthly Targeted and Regional Economic News for Distribution Strategies (TRENDS) report showed growth in six of eight North American regions, though none achieved double digit improvement compared to October 2010. U.S.-only distributor sales growth averaged 3.6 percent for the month.
“Inventories are trending slimmer compared to last year for an increasing number of distributors, with 50 percent of companies reporting inventory levels lower than last year, 46 percent reporting inventory levels higher and 4 percent reporting level inventories,” reported HARDI economist, Andrew Duguay of the Institute for Trend Research (ITR).