Industrial Machinery Distributors NAICS 423830

May 30, 2025 - Factory Output Fell in April

• US manufacturing output – a driver of demand for parts, tools, and machines used by manufacturers – fell more than expected in April due to a sharp decline in motor vehicle output, Reuters reports. Output by US factories dropped 0.4% in April following an upwardly revised 0.4% gain in March, according to the Federal Reserve. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast production would slip 0.2% after a previously reported 0.3% rise. April factory production rose 1.2% compared to a year ago. Uncertainty created by President Trump's shifting tariffs policy poses a significant headwind to US manufacturing, which relies heavily on imported raw materials. Manufacturing grew at a 4.8% rate in the first quarter after a prolonged slump due to higher interest rates. Durable goods production fell 0.2%, while production of nondurables fell 0.6%, with most industries posting declines, per Reuters.
• The Trump administration’s on-again, off-again tariff strategy is rippling through industrial manufacturing, significantly impacting production costs, supply chains, and overall competitiveness in the machinery and industrial equipment sector, Manufacturing.Net reports. The implementation of an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports, suspension of de minimis exemptions for Chinese shipments, and newly announced (and since delayed) 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, is causing confusion and requiring manufacturers to quickly adapt to mitigate potential cost spikes and supply disruptions. The higher costs for imported components and raw materials is particularly acute in industrial manufacturing, where steel, aluminum, machinery parts, and electronic components are key production inputs. The 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are increasing the cost of industrial machinery, construction equipment, and transportation infrastructure, saddling US manufacturers of heavy machinery with higher input costs for essential materials, according to Manufacturing.Net.

• Getting paid is easier when wholesaler-distributors migrate from manual, paper-based order-to-cash workflows to fully digital A/R Automation, according to a case study cited by the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW). Facing increasing competition and already thin margins, Duncan-Parnell, a North Carolina-based supplier to construction contractors, engineers, and surveyors, turned to B2B payment software provider Unified A/R with two objectives: reduce hard dollar A/R expenses related to customer payments by email or phone, and reduce the drain on personnel resources due to manual workflows for invoices, checks and payment reconciliation. After integrating A/R Automation the company reported realizing a 94% reduction in card acceptance fees, an 87% decline in A/R processing expenses, a 30% jump in A/R team productivity, and an 84% migration from customer card payments to ACH/eCheck payments, according to the NAW case study.
• Employment by industrial machinery distributors grew 1.4% in March compared to a year ago, while average industry wages fell 2.9% over the same period to $35.35 per hour, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Sales for machinery and equipment wholesalers declined 1.4% year over year in February but rose 1.2% from January, according to the Census Bureau. Industry inventories rose 1.4% YoY in February and 0.2% from January. Meanwhile, producer prices continue to climb. The producer price index (PPI) for machinery equipment parts and supplies wholesalers rose 3.4% year over year in April after posting a 7.3% gain in the previous annual comparison, according to the BLS.