Second quarter 2016 sales rose 7.5% over the same period of 2015 for distributors participating in the Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association Trend Report.

• Northeast U.S. distributors reported the biggest gain averaging

10.4%, followed by 10.1% for the Mid-Atlanta region.

• Canadian distributors averaged a 31.8% sales increase.

• The only U.S. region showing decline was the North Central, which averaged a 6.5% decline in sales.

• Other regional averages: Northwest up 6.5%; Rocky Mountain 6.4%; Pacific 6%; South Central 4.5%; Midwest 3.2%; and Southeast 2.6%.

The STAFDA averages were higher than the Dodge Data & Analytics for the first six months of 2016, which showed construction down 11% from the first half of 2015. However, the 2015 numbers were bolstered by 13 “exceptionally large projects valued at $1 billion or more” vs. only four such project this year.

STAFDA’s 40th annual convention will be November 6-8, 2016 in Atlanta. Web: stafda.org