HARDI’s monthly TRENDS report shows average sales for HARDI distributor members increased by 9.1% in November.

The average annualized growth for the 12 months through November 2017 was 6.4%.

“9.1% growth looks good because there was the same number of billing days as November 2016 when sales were up 10.9%.  The comparison was not easy,” HARDI Market Research & Benchmarking Analyst Brian Loftus said.  “Three of the regions produced double-digit growth despite being up against low-teen growth last November.”

“That makes two consecutive months near 10% gains after the late summer swoon,” HARDI Senior Economist Connor Lokar said.  “Demand early in the new year will be supported by healthy consumer spending, but we are trimming our outlook for new housing construction.”

The days sales outstanding (DSO), a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills, is now more than 47 days. “The DSO is up from the low 40s at the end of the summer and this is normal,” Loftus explained. “47 is comparable to last year.  We expect the ratio to remain in the 47 to 49 range the next couple months.”