Fastener Distributor Index | October 2022

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The Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) survey for October, 2022 dipped further into contractionary territory last month with a 44.3 reading, seasonally adjusted, after ending 27 straight months of expansion by sinking to 47.6 in September.

The Forward Looking Indicator (FLI) further softened to 42.2, reflecting general pessimism with expected market conditions.

Key Takeaway:

The October seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) declined further vs. the previous month, coming in at 44.3 (September was 47.6). This represents another contractionary reading, indicating market conditions continued to deteriorate. This was consistent with the sub-50 reading in last month’s Forward-Looking Indicator (FLI). Demand commentary again skewed pessimistic, with comments ranging from “slight slowing” to “noticeable declines”, and very few positive comments about demand.

On the positive side, stainless steel pricing seems to be stabilizing and many respondents noted improvement in supplier lead times and overseas transit times. Looking ahead, the FLI once again registered a sub-50 index value, reading 42.4, suggesting further declines in the FDI could be likely. Overall, similar to the overall macro backdrop, and the industrial economy specifically, fastener market demand conditions continue to soften.

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FDI_Report_October_2022

FND encourages all North American fastener distributors to take part in the FDI. If you are interested in being a more active part of the fastener industry, you can apply to add your company to the FDI survey group. Complete the “Request an Invitation to Participate” form by clicking here. Once verified, you will receive login ID and password information and you will be notified by email every month when the survey period has been opened. – Fastener News Desk

About the Fastener Distributor Index (FDI).

The Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) was developed as a service to the fastener industry by the FCH Sourcing Network in 2012 to be a new benchmark for the fastener industry. The FDI is a monthly survey of North American fastener distributors, conducted with the FCH Sourcing Network and Baird with support from the National Fastener Distributors Association. It offers insights into current fastener industry trends/outlooks. Similarly, the Forward-Looking Indicator (FLI) is based on a weighted average of four forward-looking inputs from the FDI survey. This indicator is designed to provide directional perspective on future expectations for fastener market conditions. As diffusion indexes, values above 50.0 signal strength, while readings below 50.0 signal weakness. Over time, results should be directly relevant to Fastenal (FAST) and broadly relevant to other industrial distributors such as W.W. Grainger (GWW) and MSC Industrial (MSM).

The FDI Survey website is a resource than can be accessed by anyone, but it can only be updated by registered users during the monthly open survey period, which occurs during the last week of each month.