We sent our fifth Weekly Pulse Survey to distributors and manufacturers on Friday, May 8th, to see a snapshot of the industry and how it’s changing week by week, in response to COVID-19.
Note that these results are not statistically significant but provide a general “pulse” of where the industry sits.
The Weekly Pulse is a complement to our scientifically significant Monthly Sales TRENDS Reports. Please contact Sarah if you’re interested in learning more about this report.
Distributor Snapshot (96 respondents):
Weekly Sales:
- 39% of respondents reported their sales were down less than 20% compared to last week
- 15% of respondents reported their sales were down 21-50% compared to last week
- 0% of respondents reported their sales were down more than 50% compared to last week
- 16% of respondents reported their sales were steady compared to last week
- 12% of respondents reported their sales increased less than 10% compared to last week
- 18% of respondents reported their sales increased more than 10% compared to last week
The table below shows how sales, compared to the prior week, have changed over the past four weeks. The week of 4/13 we had 8% of respondents see an increase in sales and now the week of 5/4 we see 30% of respondents indicate an increase in sales.
Weekly Employment Changes:
- 72% reported no employment changes this week
- 1% have reduced employee compensation compared to 5% last week
- 11% have reduced employees hours compared to 6% last week
- 1% have laid off employees compared to 5% last week
- 3% have furloughed employees compared to 6% last week
- 6% have rehired employees compared to 3% last week
- 9% have hired new employees, which was the same as last week
The table below shows how weekly employment changes have been trending since Week 1 of the Pulse Survey. The percentage of participants laying off employees has gone down from 13% in Week 1 to 1% in Week 5.
Customers:
- 57% of respondents stated that none of their customers have gone out of business. 18% responded that less than 5% of their customers have gone out of business, 1% responded that 20-30% of their customers have gone out of business and 24% claimed it’s too early to tell.
- 62% of respondents have seen no recognizable change to customers paying performance this week. 34% have less than 15% of their customers extending payment schedules compared to 44% last week. About 4% responded that more than 15% of their customers are extending payment schedules.
Suppliers:
- 53% of respondents indicated they have not experienced supply chain disruptions this week while 18% experienced parts disruptions (compared to 15% last week) and 25% experienced equipment disruptions (compared to 14% last week).
- 47% of respondents have heard there will be no expected product shortages from suppliers. 39% expect product shortages, 9% expect prices to increase and 26% do not expect prices to increase.
- 77% have not asked their supplier for extended terms, which compares to 65% last week. 18% have asked their supplier for extended terms and accommodated with no penalty (compared to 23% last week).
The table below shows how respondent’s requests for extended terms has changed over the past five weeks.
Supplier Snapshot (22 respondents):
Weekly Sales:
- 41% of respondents reported their sales were down less than 20% compared to last week
- 23% of respondents reported their sales were down 21-50% compared to last week
- 13% of respondents reported their sales were steady compared to last week
- 23% of respondents reported their sales increased less than 10% compared to last week
The table below shows how sales, compared to the prior week, have changed over the past four weeks. The week of 4/13 we had 6% of respondents see an increase in sales and now the week of 5/4 we see 23% of respondents indicate an increase in sales.
Weekly Employment Changes:
- 55% reported no employment changes this week
- 9% have reduced employee compensation compared to 8% last week
- 23% have reduced employee hours compared to 10% last week
- 9% have laid off employees compared to 6% last week
- 13% have furloughed employees compared to 10% last week
- 13% rehired new employees compared to 0% last week
- 9% have hired new employees compared to 8% last week
Customers:
- 91% of respondents expect no issues meeting orders placed by distributors. 9% expect challenges meeting parts orders (compared to 10% last week) and 0% expect challenges meeting equipment orders (compared to 2% last week).
- 36% of respondents have seen no change to customers paying performance. 59% reported that less than 15% of their customers are asking for extended payment terms (compared to 47% last week) and 5% reported that more than 15% of their customers are asking for extended terms.
Production Facilities:
For the first time in 5 weeks of tracking, we had our first week with ZERO production facilities closing as reported by respondents. This echoes a positive trend this week of increased sales and increased confidence in meeting distributor orders.
Optimism Index:
In a surprising turn, our Optimism Index fell to 68 from 71 last week. In the three weeks of tracking, average morale is at 69 out of 100.
For questions about Pulse, or to join HARDI to participate in Pulse or the Monthly Sales TRENDS Reports contact:
Wholesaler Account Manager, Sarah Jilbert at sjilbert@hardinet.org.
Supplier Account Manager, Brandin Bursa at bbursa@hardinet.org.
