By Mike Hockett
April and May have been a breath of fresh air for those who sell fastener products. With COVID-19 wreaking havoc on businesses, seeing an upward improvement from a record low in March is a welcomed development.
The FDI's forward-looking-indicator (FLI) — which measures distributor respondents' expectations for future fastener market conditions — had a 7.7-point improvement from April to a May reading of 43.9, showing solid improvement from March's 33.3 low point.
"Several participants commented that business activity seems to have leveled off or improved since April, implying a majority of respondents have perhaps already seen the bottom," commented R.W. Baird analyst David Manthey, CFA, about the May FDI.
