As an analyst for the past 20 years, I have relied on key economic indicators as foundational to prepare forecasts for leadership to make informed business decisions. Two of those key foundational indicators were Durable Goods Purchases and Business Capital Investment, but those indicators have had much change the past 5 years. The once bellwether and predictable indicator … [Read more...] about Durable Goods & CAPEX Issues + Tarriff and Policy Volatility = Uncertainty – IST
Industry Outlook
AI Update: How do you keep your Industrial teams in the loop
The news is full of how rapidly AI is evolving, with a spate of recent articles predicting mass layoffs and massive disruptions. Advances are certainly breathtaking – when OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022, it added a million users in 5 days; in April 2025, it achieved this in one hour; and reportedly one-third of companies are using AI agents to automate and improve … [Read more...] about AI Update: How do you keep your Industrial teams in the loop
ISA Economic Forecasts unveil key data on two webcasts
One of the hardest things to keep on top of in the Industrial Channel is economic forecasts as a channel leader that are specific to your business. You can quick check the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), look at the price of Steel, Copper, and Oil....and try and stay up with the latest news. The challenge is there is very little specific to the Industrial Channel forecast … [Read more...] about ISA Economic Forecasts unveil key data on two webcasts
Q2 2025 Pulse of Industrial Supply Survey is Now Open
2025 Q1 for Industrial Supply might have set a record for news impacting the channel that rivals the amount of change and uncertainty that was happening during COVID. The political winds from Washington, DC are also, to use a term have been...turbulent Tariffs on again, delayed, and semi-implemented having been affecting planning and causing uncertainty On, then off, then on, … [Read more...] about Q2 2025 Pulse of Industrial Supply Survey is Now Open
Beating the Industrial Distribution Competition with Speed
Recently I saw information promoted by a company called Mydatafactory as I saw ad advertorial written by them that intrigued me as it spoke to how industrial distribution could compete more effectively. Rarely do you see software companies that understand distributor issues. They typically understand the issue solely from the perspective of how their tool can help distributors. … [Read more...] about Beating the Industrial Distribution Competition with Speed
