I haven't talked with a distribution executive in January - in Europe or North America - who had a good thing to say about the last two weeks of business in 2019. The likely culprit was having Christmas and New Year's holidays fall mid-week; customers, employees and revenues took time off. Manufacturing employment declined slightly in December as well but changed little in 2019 after growth the year before. And while it's too early to call January, this year appears to be starting off on a more optimistic foot — from both the latest economic data as well as industry sentiment. In our recent 2020 Annual Distribution Outlook webcast, Baird Senior Research Analyst Dave Manthey offered a more optimistic picture than a year ago across industrial and construction sectors, as well as the broader economy. Summary: The odds of a recession are going down, while leading indicators and industry sentiment point to modest growth for 2020 overall.
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