Demand for Bearings and Drives Is Up

Demand for Bearings and Drives Is Up After two months of declining sales, U.S. distributors¡¯ sales of power transmission and motion control products rebounded with a 2.4% increase from April to May, according to figures released by thePower Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) in Chicago. Year-to-year comparisons are positive as well, with a 3.4% increase over sales in May 2006. The association¡¯s confidence index for U.S. distributors remained unchanged for the third month, at 6.6 on a 10-point scale. Canadian distributors¡¯ sales on a month-to-month comparison mirrored the performance of their U.S. counterparts. After a two-month decline, sales were up 7.8% compared to April 2007. Likewise, year-to-year comparison shows an increase of 4.7%. Confidence rose as well, increasing 0.1 point to 5.3. Products most in demand by purchasing operations at companies in both countries are: variable speed drives, mounted bearings, positioning systems/linear motion products, unmounted bearings and mechanical drive systems and other power transmission products.