How did the second quarter of 2024 shape up in welding markets in North America?
There were mixed signals, reflecting a blend of moderate growth and cautious optimism among gas and welding distributors. But conditions were robust by most measures, following on from a solid but somewhat mixed 2023 and a similarly solid first quarter.
Pricing in the second quarter was higher for welding hardgoods (up 1.9% over the same period a year earlier) and gases (up 2.6% on a year earlier), but both these increases in pricing marked a softening compared with the year-on-year position at Q1. Hardgoods sales volumes, meanwhile, were up by 2.7% on the same quarter the prior year, and gases volumes grew by 5.4%. These figures were very similar to the position in relative terms that was registered in the first quarter.
The findings come from the Baird/gasworld Q2 2024 Welding and Industrial Gas Survey, which this time collated the views of 15 executives at industrial, scientific, and welding gas/hardgoods distributors and manufacturers with combined annualized revenues of around $3.6bn. Respondents were distributed across the US, with minimal operations in Canada (the database of possible respondents is more evenly balanced). The Midwest was the most represented region in the responses this time around.
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