The U.S. metals market has been suffering in recent years. Prices are depressed, and producers are suffering. There's been a bit of an uptick in metals pricing recently.  What will be the prevailing pricing trends for 2017?

During this past year, I read “The Power of Habit,” a marvelous book by Charles Duhigg. Boiling it down, he says you can create habits to achieve goals, almost regardless of the purpose. Create the habit, adhere to it, and you have a greater chance of achieving your goal. The book resonated with me because it seemed like a simple way to improve and become more efficient without immersing myself in a great deal of complexity.

Distribution Center magazine recently interviewed Zeiad Hussein, founder of National Equipment Parts, a new online presence in our marketplace. His view of our industry and the role his company will play in it, provides for an interesting discussion of our future.

The aroma was leadership, and the main course was a cast of experts who shared advice with HARDI members and provided an overview of topics that could help them become more effective leaders at its Strategic Leadership Conference Oct. 2-4 in Newport, Rhode Island. The following is an overview of who presented and what they shared.

This summer, HARDI distributors reported the strongest consistent growth since the easy comparisons following the Great Recession. The National Bureau of Economic Research tells us that ugly downturn existed from 2008 through the middle of 2009. The beginning and end of recessions are not like turning a lamp on and off. The ability to identify our economic prospects is a gradual process, like when the sun is rising or setting. After the economic sun started to rise in 2009, it was not until the back half of 2010 that a recognizable improvement began to reach HARDI members and turn TRENDS sales growth to positive.

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. — Neuco Inc., a distributor of HVACR replacement parts and controls, has launched a new, redesigned version of its ordering website.

Fargo, N.D. — Dakota Supply Group (DSG) recently expanded its partnership with Kohler, a manufacturer of plumbing products. DSG will now offer Kohler items at all of its plumbing locations. Plumbing customers who work with DSG will benefit from this expanded relationship by gaining access to a large array of solutions; DSG will offer more than 30,000 items from Kohler.

HARDI distributors have mastered the art of change.  They have shifted their business model from relationship and local inventory to value-creation and problem solving. They have streamlined and focused their business to match the new economy. 

The search for solving related and significant workforce issues for a New Jersey-based labor-management association and a local social service organization began over that proverbial “cup of coffee.”