Interview with National Fastener Distributors Association President Kelly Cole

1. What kind of important events has your esteemed association held and what kind of achievements or milestones has the association speaking for the interest of your members reached in 2018?

2018 marked the 50^th anniversary of the founding of the National Fastener Distributors Association. We began the year with an anniversary celebration in Costa Rica. The destination attracted a great number of attendees and featured relevant education on value-added selling and on business innovation. We continued the year with our annual meeting and executive sales planning sessions, a unique meeting format that offers very good opportunities for fastener distributors to meet with their suppliers and to discover new sources of supply.

2. Could you please tell us more about the production and trade statistics of the fastener industry in your region in the past few months? What do you think is the reason to cause such a development?

NFDA is a partner in producing the Fastener Distributor Index. According to R. W.Baird analyst David J. Manthey, CFA, “The seasonally adjusted August FDI (62.5) decelerated vs. July’s 69.2 reading, still strong in absolute terms but nonetheless meaningfully lower vs. last month’s very bullish reading. In the August survey, 63% of respondents indicated sales were “better” relative to seasonal expectations vs. 68% in July. This produced a seasonally adjusted sales index of 74.7 (July was a record at 89.6). Pricing was higher among a large majority of respondents, with 84% seeing pricing gains y/y vs. 79% in July. The resulting FDI pricing index of 92.2 strengthened m/m and modestly exceeded the previous record high set in June (90.7). Regarding customer inventories, a majority of respondents view inventory levels as in line with expectations (59% of responses), while 38% believe customers’ inventories are too low. This compares to 74% in line and 24% too low in July.

3. What do you think are the main trends in fastener businesses? Do these trends cause any challenges or result in any benefits or influences to the fastener industry in your region?

Low unemployment, the lack of skilled labor, or the reluctance of the incoming workforce generation to seek work in industrial sectors is causing problems in nearly all fastener businesses in the United States.

4. The ongoing trade war between USA and China has generated many significant influences to the global industries for a couple of months. Do you think that the trade war will cause any concrete influences to the market and region your association represents?

It is still to be determined what effects this will have on our economy. We are just starting to see these expenses hit the pipeline.

5. As there is still no sign that the trade war will end soon, what do you think your association can do to help members face the challenges?

Keeping our membership informed is about all the association can do at this time.

6. With the advent of 2019, does the association have any plans to give or participate in any regional or internationals events?

In March NFDA will partner with two other U.S. fastener associations (Pacific-West Fastener Association and Mid-West Fastener Association) to produce a conference in San Diego, California. The educational content for this meeting is timely and relevant, with a focus on the future of fastener distribution.

7. What is your expectation and prospect toward the fastener industry in 2019?

A slower paced economy is forecasted for 2019, with expansion and growth expected to return in 2020.