Current industry trends—what’s happening?
During March through May of last year, we saw some hesitancy in much of the market with placing orders and holding stock. This was offset by an increase in demand from specific industries that were involved with medical, military and infrastructure needs. This year we are seeing strong demand for products more evenly distributed across all sectors.
How’s business?
Business is showing growth, and we do expect to continue this upward trend throughout 2021.
What are the key challenges, and how are distributors addressing them?
With the push for an increase in the minimum wage, labor costs have jumped. Finding skilled labor is increasingly difficult as well. We have had to turn to more automating of processes as a result of these increases in costs and availability. Freight costs have also risen significantly, and we have had to adjust our costs accordingly. Extended lead times are making it more difficult to forecast and plan.
What new opportunities, markets, customer segments, etc. do you see emerging?
We are excited about our connector offerings and custom cable/harness assemblies. We are seeing more movement in the sectors of medical, robotics and alternative energy for these items.
What’s the outlook for the next few months?
There is a lot of optimism in the market, and we think this will reflect positively throughout the industry.
