Solomon Coyle’s 2022-Q1 Market Outlook Report Captures Distributors’ Optimism
Pipeline Activity Up in Every Geography, Sector & Category
The Solomon Coyle 2022-Q1 Market Outlook Report is now available. On the whole, distributors remain very optimistic, even in the face of lingering supply chain issues and market uncertainty stemming from inflationary and interest rate moves. This optimism is supported by strength in the Q1 reported Bookings and Billings indexes.
KEY FINDINGS
The Q1’22 3.8% increase in Bookings over Q4’21 beat the 2.9% increase dealers previously forecasted.
Dealers expect to see Q2 Bookings grow another 7% in Q2 before slowing a bit to a still-healthy 5.3% growth in Q3.
Of note, Billings actually dropped 0.5%, most likely due to the issues we are seeing in the supply chain.
Related, the 84.3 Backlog index is at its highest point in the three years Solomon Coyle has been monitoring it.
Paul Holland, managing principal of Solomon Coyle, comments, “We’re happy to see that selling activity continues to be strong and that Bookings are looking strong into Q3. It appears that Backlogs continue to rise, and invoicing has come down, alluding to continued supply chain issues and project delays, which is slightly concerning. It’s our hope that we’ll start to see diminishing Backlogs in Q2 and Q3, which would signal improving supply chain delivery.”
PIPELINE ACTIVITY
For the first time since the inception of the Market Outlook report, Pipeline activity is up in every geography, commercial sector, and product category. Furniture leads the charge with a Pipeline activity index of +0.78.
John Joseph, head of business analytics for Solomon Coyle, states, “The strength we’re seeing in the channel, both in terms of the degree and the breadth, is encouraging. Even the hardest hit sector, Hospitality, and the hardest hit region, Canada, continue to improve each quarter.”
To view the current report, visit: www.solomoncoyle.com/dealer-market-outlook-report/. Distributors that complete the quarterly survey receive a full report containing regional and subregional information, where available (be sure to check your inbox for the email announcement).
For inquiries regarding participation, email support@solomoncoyle.com.
