Survey: Inventories too lean, more restocking ahead
Rumors of the demise of inventory restocking may have
been premature.
About 42 percent of 500 U.S. and Canadian shippers surveyed by the investment firm Morgan Stanley & Co. expect
a pickup in their 2011 order activity relative to last year, and
34 percent said they expect their inventory levels to
increase. Another 43 percent of respondents expect their
ordering levels to remain unchanged, while 32 percent said
they see inventory levels staying the same.
The findings suggest that restocking activity—whose
climb from historically low, recession-induced levels played
a major role in last year’s recovery—still has some life in it,
the firm said in a report on its survey. It had been widely
predicted in early 2010 that inventory replenishment would
eventually run its course as companies refilled their warehouses, thus leading to a significant cooling in economic
activity.
In mid-December, however, the federal government
reported that total business inventory-to-sales ratios
remained roughly 5 percent below the five-year average.
The Institute for Supply Management’s January 2011 report
on manufacturing conditions found that end-user invento-
ries in January fell below 50 percent for the 22nd consecu-
tive month, indicating that manufacturers believe their cus-
tomers’ inventories remain too low.
ground breakers
; Family Dollar Stores has announced plans to build an
815,000-square-foot DC in Ashley, Ind., that will serve
stores in the Midwest. The company plans to spend $70
million on the highly automated facility, which is expected to open in the spring of 2012.
; Work will soon begin on a $24 million, 325,000-square-
foot food distribution center for discount grocery chain
Sav-A-Lot in Lexington, N.C.
; Furniture supplier Home Meridian International has
opened a 330,000-square-foot distribution facility in
Redlands, Calif., to serve West Coast customers. The location was chosen for its proximity to the company’s container ports.
; Pacific Logistics Corp. has signed a lease with ProLogis
for a 60,000-square-foot building in Olive Branch, Miss.
Pacific Logistics, which provides third-party logistics services, plans to use the building as a regional hub for shoe
and retail distribution.
; Pacer Distribution Services has opened a 200,892-square-
foot facility in Carson, Calif. The new location, which offers
easy access to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, features 30 dock positions and two truck yards.
; Regal Logistics has opened
a 351,000-square-foot distribution center in Charleston,
S.C. The public warehouse is
designed for high-volume,
quick-turnaround shipping.
; FedEx Ground will soon start construction on a new distribution center in Norcross, Ga. The center will be FedEx
Ground’s fourth facility in the Atlanta market. FedEx
Ground is spending about $14 million for the 215,000-
square-foot DC, which is expected to open in August or
September of 2012.
; DHL plans to invest $22.5 million to expand its hub facility at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport to meet
growing demand for international service. As part of the
project, DHL will extend its existing aircraft parking apron
to accommodate nine additional wide-body aircraft that
will connect the United States to points in Asia, Europe,
and the Americas.
; Pharmaceutical company Pfizer has leased a 31,000-
square-foot warehouse in Lewisberry, Pa., to distribute its
animal health products. Pfizer has invested $1 million in
improvements to the facility.
