Distributor sentiment on track with market performance
The Solomon Coyle 2024-Q2 to Q3 Market Outlook Report is now available. Q2 Bookings look strong, coming in almost exactly as predicted a quarter ago. Distributors remain optimistic about the remainder of the year.
Shelley Rosetta, principal at Solomon Coyle, notes, “Bookings and Billings both recovered nicely in Q2. Although flattening is forecasted for Q4 due to slowing activity in Q3, education, government, and healthcare remain robust and distribution channels continue to leverage sector and product diversification to maintain market strength.”
Solomon Coyle’s head of business analytics, John Joseph, also shares the following thoughts, “We knew from the previous survey that distributors were expecting a strong Q2. They were right. Bookings grew at 6.6% and Billings and Backlog followed suit at 6.5% and 4.4%, respectively. The strong Bookings and Backlog results will support Q3 Billings.”
Key Findings This Quarter
- Actual Bookings growth of 6.6% slightly exceeded the 6.3% distributors forecasted three months ago. Once again, the South and Midwest regions led the way
- Distributors foresee 4.3% growth in Bookings for Q3 before expecting things to cool down a bit to under 1% growth for Q4
- Rounding out a strong quarter, both Billings and Backlogs jumped significantly in Q2, at 6.5% and 4.4%, respectively
- Distributor Pipeline Activity is positive for every region except the Northeast, which is flat, and positive in every sector except technology where, again, it is essentially flat
- Notably, pipelines for public sectors – Government, Education, and Healthcare – continue to lead private-sector pipelines
Report Access
Intelligence gained through the Market Outlook program reflects frontline distributor knowledge of markets across North America and is grounded in distributor sentiment regarding future expectations.
Distributors that complete the quarterly survey receive a full report containing regional and subregional information, where available. To view the current report, visit: www.solomoncoyle.com/dealer-market-outlook-report/. For inquiries regarding participation, email support@solomoncoyle.com.