There was a continued solid picture for gas and welding distributors in the first quarter of 2024, with conditions looking robust by most measures, following on from a solid but sometimes mixed 2023.
Pricing in the first quarter was higher for welding hardgoods (up 2.3% over the same period a year earlier) and gases (up 3.9% on a year earlier), while hardgoods sales volumes were up by 1.5% on the same quarter the prior year, and gases volumes grew by 5.7%.
The findings come from the Baird/gasworld Q1 2024 Welding and Industrial Gas Survey, which this time collated the views of 11 executives at industrial, scientific, and welding gas/hardgoods distributors and manufacturers with combined annualized revenues of around $3.1bn. 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.
What about the year ahead? The figures and sentiment on show for 2024 are consistent with another year of growth by all the key measures over the course of the 12 months, though once inflation is factored in the picture looks flatter. For the full year, hardgoods sales are expected to end the year 4.5% higher and for gases the projected figure is 6.2% growth. That’s a small moderation of expectations compared with three months ago, but still an expression of reasonable confidence in a solid year ahead.
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