Thinking hard about tariffs, AI tech, reshoring and keeping stock on the shelves, the fastener industry heads to Vegas for its largest annual conference of the year. Director of strategic sourcing for Würth Industry USA, Brian Schommer explains the critical role of sourcing and the reboot of the Würth Knowing podcast (14:11). Young Fastener Professional of the Year, Tim […]
Written by R.W. Baird analyst David J. Manthey, CFA with Quinn Fredrickson, CFA 8/7/25 Key Takeaway: The seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) continued to move higher in July, reaching 53.1 (June 52.0), reflecting slightly better seasonally-adjusted sales trends and higher employment. The Forward-Looking Indicator (FLI) was even more positive, coming in sharply higher m/m at 57.3 […]
Written by R.W. Baird analyst David J. Manthey, CFA with Quinn Fredrickson, CFA 7/7/25 Key Takeaway: The seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) improved sequentially for the second consecutive month, reaching 52.0 (May 50.4), reflecting re-acceleration in sales and customer inventories. However, the Forward-Looking Indicator (FLI) fell back below 50, landing at 47.4 (vs. May’s 50.2), consistent […]
Written by R.W. Baird analyst David J. Manthey, CFA with Quinn Fredrickson, CFA 6/6/25 Key Takeaway: The seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) saw month-over-month improvement, reaching 50.4 (April 46.9). This reflected improvement in three of the four underlying components (sales, employment and supplier deliveries). The Forward-Looking Indicator (FLI) also improved at 50.2, the first reading above 50 […]
Written by R.W. Baird analyst David J. Manthey, CFA with Quinn Fredrickson, CFA 8/8/24 Key Takeaway: The seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) dipped to 47.5, below 50 for the first time since January. While normal summer sluggishness likely played a role, several participants said they saw signs of a broader slowdown beyond just seasonal […]
Written by R.W. Baird analyst David J. Manthey, CFA with Quinn Fredrickson, CFA 7/8/24 Key Takeaway: The seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) saw a slight m/m decline, 52.1 vs. 52.9 in May, but remained in expansionary territory (>50). Commentary was mixed as some saw good order trends, while others characterized June as fairly weak. […]
Written by R.W. Baird analyst David J. Manthey, CFA with Quinn Fredrickson, CFA 6/6/24 Key Takeaway: The seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) saw modest m/m improvement, reading 52.9 in May vs. 51.6 in April, and continued to expand (above neutral reading of 50), albeit driven by just one component, supplier deliveries. Commentary was again […]
Written by R.W. Baird analyst David J. Manthey, CFA with Quinn Fredrickson, CFA 5/8/24 Key Takeaway: The seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) slightly decelerated m/m but remained in growth territory reading 51.6. Commentary was more mixed this month as some see pockets of significant weakness (construction, OEM, Western US markets), while others see strength […]
Written by R.W. Baird analyst David J. Manthey, CFA with Quinn Fredrickson, CFA 4/3/24 Key Takeaway: The seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) expanded further in March, increasing to 53.0, up from 50.5 in February. Demand commentary leaned overall fairly positive but balanced out by a noticeable uptick in comments regarding continued rises in freight/container […]
Written by R.W. Baird analyst David J. Manthey, CFA with Quinn Fredrickson, CFA 3/5/24 Key Takeaway: The seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) bounced back to growth (>50) in February with a reading of 50.5. A key theme present among respondent commentary was stabilization/consistency in demand. After accurately forecasting the rebound in this month’s FDI, […]
